Breakdown of Dat verlangen groeit elke keer als ze foto’s van de familie ziet.
zij
she
dat
that
zien
to see
elke
every
de familie
the family
de keer
the time
als
when
van
of
groeien
to grow
de foto
the photo
het verlangen
the desire
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Questions & Answers about Dat verlangen groeit elke keer als ze foto’s van de familie ziet.
What does verlangen mean and what role does it play in the sentence?
Verlangen means 'longing' or 'yearning'. In this sentence it’s a noun serving as the subject of the main clause—Dat verlangen ('that longing') is what grows.
Why is dat used instead of het in dat verlangen?
Dat is a demonstrative pronoun pointing to a specific longing already mentioned or understood. Het verlangen would mean 'the longing' in a general sense, while dat verlangen means 'that particular longing'.
What does elke keer als mean and are there alternatives?
Elke keer als translates to 'every time that' or 'each time when'. You can also use telkens als, steeds als, or bij elke keer dat—they all introduce a repeating condition.
Why is groeit (the verb) in second position in the sentence?
In Dutch main clauses, the finite verb typically comes in the second slot. Here, Dat verlangen occupies the first position, so groeit follows as the second element.
Why is the verb ziet placed at the end of als ze foto’s van de familie ziet?
Dutch subordinate clauses (introduced by conjunctions like als) follow verb-final word order. Everything other than the finite verb comes before it, so ziet appears at the very end.
Why is foto’s spelled with an apostrophe before the s?
Under Dutch spelling rules, nouns ending in a vowel (here foto) form their plural with an apostrophe + s. This makes foto’s clear and avoids any misreading.
Could we say als ze naar foto’s van de familie kijkt instead of als ze foto’s van de familie ziet? What’s the nuance?
Yes. Zien means 'to see' (what she notices or perceives), whereas kijken naar ('to look at') implies a more deliberate action. So kijkt naar foto’s stresses that she’s actively looking at the pictures.
Why is there no comma before als ze foto’s van de familie ziet?
In Dutch, a comma before a subordinate clause is optional and often omitted when the sentence is short and clear. You could insert one for emphasis, but it isn’t required here.