Uiteindelijk accepteerde Tom zijn nieuwe beroep met plezier.

In the end Tom accepted his new profession with pleasure.

Breakdown of Uiteindelijk accepteerde Tom zijn nieuwe beroep met plezier.

• Tom: Tom
• nieuw: new
• met: with
• zijn: his
• uiteindelijk: in the end
• het beroep: the profession
• accepteren: to accept
• het plezier: the pleasure

Questions & Answers about Uiteindelijk accepteerde Tom zijn nieuwe beroep met plezier.

Why is Uiteindelijk placed at the beginning of the sentence?

In Dutch you can front-load an adverb or adverbial phrase (here Uiteindelijk, meaning in the end). This emphasizes the timing. When you do this, the finite verb must still occupy the second position in the clause (see next question).

How does Dutch word order work when an adverb starts the sentence?

Dutch follows the “verb-second” rule in main clauses: • The first element can be any word or phrase (here Uiteindelijk).
• The finite verb then comes immediately after that (here accepteerde).
• The subject follows the verb (here Tom), and then the rest of the clause.

Why does accepteren take -de in the past tense (giving accepteerde) rather than -te?

Dutch forms the simple past of regular verbs according to the final sound of their stem: • If the stem ends in a voiceless consonant (t, k, p, s, f, ch), add -te(n).
• Otherwise, add -de(n).
The stem accepteer- ends in the voiced consonant r, so you add -de, yielding accepteerde.

Why is zijn nieuwe beroep used instead of just nieuwe beroep?

Accepteren is a transitive verb—it needs an object answering what is being accepted. Here you specify whose profession it is by using the possessive zijn (his). Omitting zijn would leave the object unclear.

What’s the difference between beroep and baan?

• Beroep refers to a profession or vocation, often implying training or a long-term career (e.g. doctor, teacher).
• Baan means a job or position, highlighting the employment itself rather than the profession’s nature.
In the example, beroep focuses on the type of work Tom has adopted.

What does met plezier add to the sentence?

Met plezier means with pleasure. It describes how Tom accepted his new profession—namely, happily or willingly.

Could you replace accepteren with aanvaarden in this sentence?

Yes. Aanvaarden is a synonym of accepteren meaning to accept.
You could say Uiteindelijk aanvaardde Tom zijn nieuwe beroep met plezier with essentially the same meaning, though accepteren is more common in everyday speech.

How do you pronounce Uiteindelijk and accepteerde?

• Uiteindelijk: roughly OY-tuyn-duh-lək-kate (IPA: [ˌœy.təl.dəˈlɛi̯t]).
• Accepteerde: roughly ak-SEP-tayr-duh (IPA: [ɑkˌsɛpˈteːr.də]).