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Deze beslissingen hebben veel invloed op onze toekomst.

Deze beslissingen hebben veel invloed op onze toekomst.
These decisions have a lot of influence on our future.
FromLesson 18inHardcore Dutch
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Questions & Answers about Deze beslissingen hebben veel invloed op onze toekomst.

Why do we use deze instead of dit in front of beslissingen?
Because beslissingen is a plural noun. In Dutch, dit is used for singular neuter nouns, while deze is used for all plural nouns and singular common-gender nouns. Since beslissingen is plural, we use deze.
How do you form the plural of beslissing, and why is it beslissingen?
Beslissing ends in -ing, and most Dutch nouns ending in -ing form the plural with -en, so beslissing → beslissingen. The plural marker -en is the standard way to pluralize this type of noun.
What is veel invloed and why don’t we need an article before invloed?
Veel is a quantifier meaning “a lot of” or “much.” When you use veel with an uncountable noun like invloed, you don’t include an article. So veel invloed means “a lot of influence.” If you wanted to speak of a specific influence, you would say de invloed, but here it’s a general amount.
Why is invloed op used, and could we say invloed in instead?
The fixed expression in Dutch is invloed op iets (“influence on something”). You cannot use invloed in in this context. It maps exactly to English “influence on our future.”
Why does the sentence place op onze toekomst at the end?

In a Dutch main clause, the common order is Subject–Verb–Object–(Adverbial/Prepositional phrase). Here that’s: • Deze beslissingen (subject)
• hebben (verb)
• veel invloed (object)
• op onze toekomst (prepositional complement)

What’s the difference between onze and ons, and why is it onze toekomst?

Both mean “our,” but: • ons is used only before singular neuter (het-words).
• onze is used before singular common-gender (de-words) and all plurals.
Since toekomst is a de-word (common gender), it takes onze.

Could we replace veel invloed with grote invloed, and would the meaning change?

Yes.
• veel invloed emphasizes the quantity of influence (“a lot of influence”).
• grote invloed emphasizes the magnitude or size of the influence (“big influence”).
Both are correct, but the nuance shifts slightly from “many” to “big.”

Why is hebben used instead of zijn in this sentence?
Hebben means “to have” and is used because you’re stating that these decisions have influence on our future. Zijn (“to be”) would not fit, since the subject isn’t being equated with the future—it’s possessing an effect on it.

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