Vanwege de snelheid van de controle verliest niemand tijd bij binnenkomst.

Because of the speed of the check, nobody loses time upon entering.

Breakdown of Vanwege de snelheid van de controle verliest niemand tijd bij binnenkomst.

• de tijd: the time
• van: of
• verliezen: to lose
• vanwege: because of
• de snelheid: the speed
• de controle: the check
• niemand: nobody
• bij: upon

Questions & Answers about Vanwege de snelheid van de controle verliest niemand tijd bij binnenkomst.

What is the meaning and function of vanwege in this sentence? How is it different from omdat or doordat?

Vanwege is a preposition meaning “because of” or “due to.” It must be followed by a noun phrase:

• Vanwege de regen (because of the rain)
• Vanwege vertragingen (due to delays)

By contrast, omdat and doordat are conjunctions that introduce full clauses with a verb:

• Omdat het regent, blijf ik binnen. (Because it’s raining, I stay inside.)
• Doordat hij te laat was, hebben we de bus gemist. (Because he was late, we missed the bus.)

You cannot say vanwege dat het regent—for that meaning you’d need omdat or doordat.

Why is the verb verliest placed before the subject niemand?

Dutch main clauses obey the V2 rule: the finite verb must be the second syntactic slot. Here the first slot is occupied by the adverbial “Vanwege de snelheid van de controle.” That pushes the verb into slot two, causing inversion of subject and verb:

1. Vanwege de snelheid van de controle
2. verliest
3. niemand
4. tijd bij binnenkomst.

If you started with the subject, you’d say “Niemand verliest tijd…” but then you lose the emphasis on the cause at the front.

Why is the verb verliest in the singular form, not verliezen?

The subject niemand (no one) is grammatically singular. Dutch conjugates the verb to match:

• ik verlies
• jij verliest
• hij/niemand verliest
• wij verliezen

Hence niemand verliest takes the third-person singular form.

Why doesn’t the sentence use geen tijd or an extra niet along with niemand?

The indefinite pronoun niemand already expresses a negative meaning (“no one”). Adding niet or geen would create a double negation, which is ungrammatical in standard Dutch.

Incorrect:

• Niemand verliest geen tijd.
• Niemand verliest niet tijd.

Correct:

• Niemand verliest tijd.
• Niemand verliest óók maar één minuut.

Why are de articles used before snelheid and controle?

Both snelheid and controle are de-words (common gender) in Dutch. We use the definite article de here because we refer to a specific speed of that particular control process—think “the speed of the security check,” not speed in general.

Can you explain the construction snelheid van de controle? How does van work here?

This is a possession/relationship structure—like English “speed of the inspection.” In Dutch you most often show that with van + noun:

• de kleur van de auto (the color of the car)
• het huis van mijn vriend (my friend’s house)

So snelheid van de controle literally means “speed of the control/inspection.”

What does bij binnenkomst mean, and why isn’t there an article after bij?

Bij binnenkomst translates as “upon entry” or “when arriving.” In Dutch time expressions with bij you typically use a bare noun:

• bij binnenkomst (upon entering)
• bij vertrek (at departure)
• bij ontvangst (upon receipt)

You can say “bij de binnenkomst,” but that sounds more formal or refers to a specific entry (e.g. “at the entrance ceremony”). For general statements about losing time, the article is omitted.