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Questions & Answers about De conducteur beloofde dat de volgende keer alles soepeler zou verlopen.
What part of speech is dat in this sentence, and why is it used here?
Dat is a subordinating conjunction (subordinating “that”). It introduces the subordinate clause dat de volgende keer alles soepeler zou verlopen, marking the content of the promise made by the conducteur.
Why does the verb zou verlopen appear at the end of the clause?
In Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by a word like dat, the finite verb (here zou) and the past participle or infinitive (here verlopen) move to the end. This is the standard verb‐final word order in subordinate clauses.
What is the role of zou in zou verlopen?
Zou is the past tense of zal, which in combination with an infinitive expresses a future‐in‐the‐past or conditional nuance. Here it means “would go” or “would run” more smoothly next time, indicating a promise about a future situation seen from a past perspective.
Why is de volgende keer placed before alles soepeler zou verlopen, instead of at the very beginning of the sentence?
In Dutch, after the subordinating conjunction dat, you can place time expressions like de volgende keer in early position (the “second slot”). Fully moving it to the front of the main sentence would require inversion and drop the conjunction; here it stays inside the subordinate clause in a typical “time – topic – verb at end” structure.
What does soepeler mean, and why is it used instead of meer soepel?
Soepeler is the comparative form of the adjective soepel (“smooth, flexible”). Dutch comparatives are formed by adding -er (sometimes with vowel changes). You do not say meer soepel because the language prefers the -er suffix for most one‐syllable adjectives.
What is the function of alles in this context?
Alles means “everything” and here it emphasizes that every aspect of the process will go more smoothly. It acts as the subject of zou verlopen, indicating what is going to run more smoothly next time.
Could you replace verlopen with lopen, and if so, what nuance changes?
You could say alles soepeler zou lopen, but verlopen emphasizes how an event or process unfolds (“proceed”). Lopen focuses more on literal “running” or “walking,” so verlopen is more idiomatic when talking about how an operation or procedure goes.
Why is the main verb in the principal clause beloofde in past tense, and how would you say it in present tense?
Beloofde is past tense (“promised”) because the action happened in the past. In present tense you would use belooft, as in De conducteur belooft dat…, which would mean “The conductor promises that….”
Is it possible to omit dat in this sentence?
No, you need dat after beloofde when introducing a full subordinate clause. There is no direct object to replace dat, and leaving it out would leave the clause unconnected.
Why are there two verbs (zou and verlopen) instead of a single verb phrase?
Because Dutch uses an auxiliary verb (zou) plus an infinitive (verlopen) to express a conditional or future‐in‐the‐past meaning. The auxiliary carries the tense/mood (conditional), and the infinitive carries the main semantic content (“to proceed”).