Breakdown of Ik eet brood; hij daarentegen eet fruit.
Questions & Answers about Ik eet brood; hij daarentegen eet fruit.
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)
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.
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:
• Daarentegen | eet | hij | fruit.
Absolutely. You can say:
• Hij daarentegen eet fruit.
Here hij is first, daarentegen second, and eet third. Word-order flexibility lets you choose the nuance and rhythm you like.
Both brood and fruit are mass nouns here, referring to these foods in general. In Dutch, uncountable or generic items often appear without an article:
• Ik eet brood. (bread in general)
If you wanted a specific item, you’d add an article or numeral:
• Ik eet een stuk brood.