Gelukkig hadden we een extra batterij, waardoor de lamp weer werkte.

Gelukkig hadden we een extra batterij, waardoor de lamp weer werkte.
Luckily we had an extra battery, which made the lamp work again.
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Questions & Answers about Gelukkig hadden we een extra batterij, waardoor de lamp weer werkte.

Why is the verb hadden used instead of just had?

In Dutch, the past tense of hebben (“to have”) for wij (we) is hadden.

  • Ik had (I had)
  • Jij/je had (you had)
  • Wij hadden (we had)
    Since the subject is we, you need the plural form hadden.
Why does Gelukkig come at the very beginning, and what effect does that have?

When an adverbial word like Gelukkig (fortunately) is placed in the first position, Dutch inverts the subject and the verb:

  • Normal order: We hadden gelukkig een extra batterij.
  • Inverted: Gelukkig hadden we een extra batterij.
    This inversion (verb–subject rather than subject–verb) is required whenever something other than the subject occupies the first spot.
Why is the comma placed before waardoor?

Waardoor introduces a subordinate clause (a clause giving the result). In Dutch, subordinate clauses are usually set off by a comma from the main clause:

  • Main clause, subordinate clause.
What does waardoor mean here, and why use it instead of omdat or dus?

Waardoor literally means “by which” or “through which” and links the extra battery to the lamp working again as a result.

  • waardoor emphasizes the mechanism or means (“because of which the lamp worked again”).
  • omdat is a simple causal conjunction (“because”), but doesn’t convey the relative-pronoun nuance.
  • dus means “so” or “therefore,” more colloquial and not used to introduce a full subordinate clause.
Why does the verb werkte appear at the end of the clause after waardoor?

Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like waardoor push the finite verb to the final position. So you get:
…, waardoor (conjunction) … werkte (verb at end).

What is the role of weer in de lamp weer werkte, and why is it placed before the verb?

Weer means “again.” In Dutch, short adverbs (like weer) typically come directly before the main verb they modify in both main and subordinate clauses:

  • …werkte de lamp weer (main clause)
  • …, waardoor de lamp weer werkte (subordinate clause)
Could you rephrase the sentence with omdat instead of waardoor?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly from a relative-pronoun construction to a straightforward causal clause:
Omdat we een extra batterij hadden, werkte de lamp weer.