Breakdown of De scheidsrechter controleert ook het percentage balbezit.
ook
also
controleren
to check
de scheidsrechter
the referee
het percentage
the percentage
het balbezit
the ball possession
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Questions & Answers about De scheidsrechter controleert ook het percentage balbezit.
Why do we use the article de with scheidsrechter but het with percentage?
Dutch has two definite articles: de for common‐gender nouns (and all plurals) and het for singular neuter nouns.
- scheidsrechter (‘referee’) is common gender → de scheidsrechter
- percentage is neuter → het percentage
How is the compound noun balbezit formed, and what does it literally mean?
balbezit is a combination of bal (ball) + bezit (possession). Literally it means ball possession. In football/sports context it refers to how long or how much a team has control of the ball—i.e. its possession.
Why is there no preposition between percentage and balbezit? Wouldn’t percentage van het balbezit be more logical?
Dutch often uses noun+noun compounds or noun phrases without a preposition to express possession or attribution—similar to English ball possession percentage.
- percentage balbezit is concise and idiomatic.
- percentage van het balbezit is grammatically correct but wordier.
What role does ook play in this sentence, and why is it placed after the verb?
ook means also. In a main clause Dutch follows “verb‐second” word order:
- Subject (De scheidsrechter)
- Finite verb (controleert)
- Adverb (ook)
- Object (het percentage balbezit)
Here, ook indicates that checking the possession percentage is another task the referee does.
Why does the verb end in -t in controleert?
In the present tense regular verbs add -t for the third‐person singular (hij/zij/het). The infinitive is controleren; with de scheidsrechter (he) it becomes controleert.
Can we replace controleert with checkt, and if so, what changes?
Yes. checkt is an informal borrowing from English check.
- controleert is more neutral/formal and standard in written or broadcast sports commentary.
- checkt sounds more colloquial, common in speech or casual contexts.
Could we move ook to a different position, and what would that do to the meaning?
Yes—word order shifts emphasis:
- De scheidsrechter controleert het percentage balbezit ook.
Emphasizes that in addition to other things, he checks possession %. - Ook de scheidsrechter controleert het percentage balbezit.
Suggests even the referee (besides others) does this—different nuance.
Standard focus is controleert ook het percentage balbezit.
Why is percentage singular here instead of percentages?
Here we refer to one overall figure—the team’s total possession share. That’s a single statistic, so singular het percentage. If you spoke about multiple percentages (e.g. for each player), you’d use plural de percentages.