Breakdown of De brandweer rijdt door de wijk om te controleren of de rook geen gevaar vormt.
om
for
controleren
to check
door
through
of
whether
rijden
to drive
de wijk
the neighbourhood
de rook
the smoke
de brandweer
the fire brigade
geen
no
het gevaar
the danger
vormen
to pose
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Questions & Answers about De brandweer rijdt door de wijk om te controleren of de rook geen gevaar vormt.
Why is brandweer used with the singular verb rijdt rather than the plural rijden?
In Dutch brandweer is a collective noun meaning “the fire department” or “the fire brigade.” Collective nouns are treated as singular, so you use the third-person singular form rijdt.
What does rijdt door de wijk literally mean, and why is door used?
rijden door means to drive through. The preposition door indicates movement through an area. So rijdt door de wijk is “(it) drives through the neighborhood.”
What role does om te controleren play in this sentence?
om te + infinitive introduces a purpose clause, equivalent to in order to in English. Therefore, om te controleren means “in order to check” or simply “to check.”
Why is the verb vormt placed at the end in the clause of de rook geen gevaar vormt?
That clause is a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction of (meaning “whether”). In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb moves to the very end.
Why is of used here instead of dat?
Use of to introduce yes/no (whether) clauses. Use dat to introduce content clauses that state a fact (“that”). Since they are checking whether the smoke poses a danger, of is correct.
Why is it geen gevaar vormt instead of something like gevaar niet vormt?
When negating a noun in Dutch you place geen directly before it (geen gevaar = “no danger”). niet is used to negate verbs, adjectives or adverbs, not standalone nouns.
What’s the difference between gevaar vormen and gevaarlijk zijn?
• gevaar vormen = to constitute or pose a danger (slightly more formal).
• gevaarlijk zijn = to be dangerous (more general).
In this context, gevaar vormen emphasizes the act of forming or causing a threat.
What does brandweer mean exactly, and why is it preceded by de?
brandweer means fire department or fire brigade (the organization). It’s a common-gender noun in Dutch, so it takes the definite article de.
Could you start the sentence with the purpose clause, like Om te controleren of de rook geen gevaar vormt, rijdt de brandweer door de wijk? Does the word order change?
Yes. If you front the om te purpose clause, Dutch still follows the V2 rule in the main clause. After the comma you place the finite verb rijdt immediately before the subject de brandweer.