Breakdown of Een kleine minderheid begrijpt de betekenis nog niet.
klein
small
niet
not
een
a, an
begrijpen
to understand
nog
yet
de minderheid
the minority
de betekenis
the meaning
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Questions & Answers about Een kleine minderheid begrijpt de betekenis nog niet.
Why does the verb end in -t in begrijpt?
Because in Dutch the present-tense verb for the third person singular (hij/zij/het) always takes an -t. Here the subject is een kleine minderheid (it = third person singular), so you say begrijpt rather than begrijp.
Why is the verb singular even though a “minority” often means many people?
Dutch verb agreement follows the grammatical subject, not the number of actual people implied. The noun phrase een kleine minderheid is grammatically singular, so the verb stays in the singular form.
Why does kleine have an -e ending in een kleine minderheid?
In Dutch any adjective in front of a noun that has an article (definite de or indefinite een) takes an -e ending. Because minderheid is a “de‐word” and is preceded by een, the adjective klein becomes kleine.
What does nog niet mean?
Literally nog = “still” and niet = “not,” so together nog niet means not yet. It indicates that up to this point the minority has not understood, but they might in the future.
Why is nog niet placed at the end of the sentence?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb is always second. After Subject (1) and Verb (2) come Object and any adverbials. Here the order is:
- Een kleine minderheid (subject)
- begrijpt (finite verb)
- de betekenis (object)
- nog niet (adverbial)
Why is it de betekenis and not het betekenis?
Most Dutch nouns ending in -nis, -heid or -ing are feminine or common gender and take the article de. Since betekenis ends in -nis, it uses de, not het.
What basic word order rule does this sentence illustrate?
It shows the Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule in a main clause:
• Position 1: one element (here the subject een kleine minderheid)
• Position 2: the finite verb (begrijpt)
• Positions 3+: the rest (object de betekenis, then adverbial nog niet).