Breakdown of Ondanks het verlies door de storm verwacht de directeur volgend jaar meer winst.
meer
more
het jaar
the year
door
by
volgend
next
ondanks
despite
de winst
the profit
het verlies
the loss
de storm
the storm
verwachten
to expect
de directeur
the director
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Questions & Answers about Ondanks het verlies door de storm verwacht de directeur volgend jaar meer winst.
What does ondanks mean and how is it used?
Ondanks is a preposition meaning “despite” or “in spite of.” It introduces a noun phrase that expresses a condition or obstacle. In the example ondanks het verlies means “despite the loss.”
Why is it ondanks het verlies and not ondanks dat het verlies?
Ondanks must be followed by a noun phrase. If you want to use a full clause with dat, you need ondanks dat plus a clause, for example: ondanks dat er verlies was. Without dat, you only use a noun phrase (here het verlies).
Why is door used in door de storm instead of another preposition?
In Dutch door expresses the cause of something (equivalent to English “due to” or “because of”). Door de storm literally means “because of the storm.” Other prepositions like van or met do not convey cause in this context.
Why is the word order verwacht de directeur instead of de directeur verwacht?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule. The initial prepositional phrase Ondanks het verlies door de storm counts as the first element, so the finite verb verwacht must come second, followed by the subject de directeur.
Why is it het verlies with het and not een verlies?
The definite article het is used because this refers to a specific, known loss caused by the storm. Using een verlies would imply any unspecified loss, which isn’t what the speaker means here.
What does meer winst mean and how is meer used here?
Meer winst means “more profit.” Meer is the comparative form of veel (much/many) and indicates an increase. In this sentence it shows that the director expects profit to be higher next year.
Why is volgend jaar placed at the end of the sentence?
Time adverbials like volgend jaar can appear in various positions in Dutch. Placing it after the verb and subject (in the “rest of sentence” slot) is common for adding extra information without disturbing the V2 structure.
Could you replace ondanks with hoewel or ondanks dat, and what’s the difference?
Yes. Hoewel is a conjunction requiring a full clause: Hoewel er verlies door de storm was, verwacht de directeur…
Ondanks dat also introduces a clause: Ondanks dat er verlies was, verwacht…
The meaning is the same, but ondanks + noun vs hoewel/ondanks dat + clause are different structures.