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Questions & Answers about Hij reageert droog op het nieuws.
What does droog mean in this sentence?
Here droog literally translates to “dry,” but it’s used figuratively to describe someone’s unemotional, unemphatic manner. So hij reageert droog op het nieuws means he responds in a dry, unenthusiastic way, showing little emotional reaction.
Is droog acting as an adjective or an adverb here?
Morphologically it’s an adjective, but in reageert droog it functions adverbially. Dutch often uses the base adjective form to modify a verb without changing its ending.
Why is the verb followed by op? Could you use a different preposition?
The verb reageren requires the preposition op when indicating what you react to: reageren op iets = “to react to something.” Using another preposition (like naar or aan) would be incorrect in this context.
How would the word order change in a question or subordinate clause?
– Question: invert verb and subject:
Reageert hij droog op het nieuws?
– Subordinate clause: move the finite verb to the end:
Ik vind het vervelend omdat hij droog op het nieuws reageert.
Can droog be used in other contexts?
Yes. You can describe humor or jokes as droog (“dry humor” = droge humor, een droge grap). It always conveys understatement, lack of emotion, or deadpan wit.
What’s the past tense of reageren?
The simple past is reageerde.
So you would say: Hij reageerde droog op het nieuws.
Are there synonyms for droog in this context?
– Koud: “cold,” more emotionally distant
– Onverschillig: “indifferent,” a bit stronger lack of interest
But droog suggests a kind of subtle, deadpan delivery rather than outright indifference.