Ik eet brood; hij daarentegen eet fruit.

I eat bread; he, on the other hand, eats fruit.

Breakdown of Ik eet brood; hij daarentegen eet fruit.

• ik: I
• hij: he
• eten: to eat
• het brood: the bread

Questions & Answers about Ik eet brood; hij daarentegen eet fruit.

What does daarentegen mean in this sentence?

Daarentegen translates roughly as “on the other hand” or “however”. It’s a discourse marker used to highlight a contrast between two clauses—in this case, your action of eating bread versus his action of eating fruit.

Why is there a semicolon between the two clauses instead of a comma or a period?

A semicolon ( ; ) links two independent clauses that are closely related in meaning. It’s stronger than a comma (which would risk a comma splice) but lighter than a full stop. You could also write:
• Ik eet brood. Hij daarentegen eet fruit. (two sentences)
• Ik eet brood, maar hij eet fruit. (using maar + comma)

Can I replace daarentegen with maar?

Yes—maar is the everyday word for “but.” So
• Ik eet brood, maar hij eet fruit.
means roughly the same. However, daarentegen is more formal or emphatic and stresses the contrast as two parallel actions.

Why does the verb eet stay in second position even when daarentegen is clause-initial?

Dutch is a V2 (verb-second) language: the finite verb must occupy the second position in a main clause. If you start with daarentegen, that counts as the first constituent, so the verb still comes next:
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