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Breakdown of Het is tijdelijk moeilijk, want er is een tekort aan personeel in ons hotel.
zijn
to be
in
in
want
because
het
it
ons
our
er
there
moeilijk
difficult
tijdelijk
temporarily
het tekort
the shortage
het personeel
the staff
het hotel
the hotel
Questions & Answers about Het is tijdelijk moeilijk, want er is een tekort aan personeel in ons hotel.
What does tijdelijk mean in the context of this sentence?
It means “temporary.” In this sentence, tijdelijk describes the difficulty, indicating that the situation isn’t expected to last permanently.
How is moeilijk used in the sentence, and why isn’t it inflected?
Moeilijk is used as a predicative adjective following the linking verb is. In Dutch, adjectives used in the predicate position are not inflected for gender or number, which is why it remains in its base form.
What role does want play here, and how is it different from using omdat?
Want functions as a coordinating conjunction meaning “because.” It connects two independent clauses without causing any verb movement. In contrast, omdat is a subordinating conjunction and would typically send the verb to the end of its clause.
Why is er used in the clause “er is een tekort aan personeel”?
Er acts as an expletive (dummy) subject in Dutch existential constructions. Much like “there” in the English phrase “there is a shortage,” it introduces the existence of something—in this case, the shortage of personnel.
Why is ons used before hotel instead of onze?
The word hotel is a neuter noun in Dutch (it pairs with the article het). When showing possession, neuter nouns take ons rather than onze, which is reserved for common gender nouns.
How should we understand the phrase “een tekort aan personeel”?
It literally translates to “a shortage of personnel” or “a lack of staff.” This phrase indicates that there are not enough employees for the hotel’s needs.
How does the sentence structure emphasize that the difficulty is temporary?
By placing tijdelijk directly before moeilijk, the sentence clearly indicates that the hardship is only for a short time. The explanation that follows—highlighting the shortage of staff—further clarifies that the difficulty is tied to a current, changeable situation rather than a permanent condition.
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