Breakdown of Het bedrijf gebruikt duurzaam materiaal, waardoor er minder plastic in het milieu belandt.
in
in
er
there
gebruiken
to use
minder
less
duurzaam
sustainable
het plastic
the plastic
het milieu
the environment
het bedrijf
the company
het materiaal
the material
belanden
to end up
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Questions & Answers about Het bedrijf gebruikt duurzaam materiaal, waardoor er minder plastic in het milieu belandt.
What does duurzaam materiaal mean?
Duurzaam means “sustainable” or “long-lasting,” and materiaal means “material.” Together, duurzaam materiaal is “sustainable material.”
What is waardoor and how does it function here?
Waardoor is a subordinating conjunction meaning “whereby” or “as a result of which.” It introduces a clause that expresses the consequence of the first clause.
Why is there a comma before waardoor?
In Dutch, you place a comma before a subordinate clause when it explains reason or result. Here the comma sets off the waardoor-clause that shows the outcome of using sustainable materials.
How does word order change after waardoor?
With a subordinating conjunction like waardoor, the finite verb (here belandt) moves to the end of its clause. So you get: waardoor er minder plastic in het milieu belandt.
What role does er play in “waardoor er minder plastic in het milieu belandt”?
This er is a dummy or expletive pronoun. It fills the “subject” position so the real subject (minder plastic) can come right after it. English has no exact equivalent, but it’s common in Dutch.
Why is it minder plastic without an article?
“Plastic” here is an uncountable substance. When you speak about an undefined amount of a substance in general, Dutch often omits the article, just like English “less plastic.”
What tense and person is belandt?
Belandt is the present-tense, third-person singular form of belanden, which means “to end up.”
Why “in het milieu” and not “op het milieu”?
Milieu means “environment.” You use in to say something ends up “in the environment,” just as in English.
Could you use zodat instead of waardoor?
You could say zodat er minder plastic in het milieu belandt, but zodat often implies purpose or intention (“so that we achieve less pollution”), whereas waardoor is neutral and simply states the factual result of the action.