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Questions & Answers about Tom raakt gewond in de keuken.
What does raakt gewond mean in this sentence?
Raakt is the 3rd person singular present tense of raken, which here means “to get” or “to become.” Gewond is the past participle of verwonden used as an adjective meaning “injured.” So raakt gewond translates to “gets injured” or “becomes injured.”
Why is raken used instead of worden for “gets injured”?
In Dutch you can say someone raakt gewond to express that they become injured in an active sense. Using worden would form a passive structure. If you wanted the passive “is injured,” you’d say Tom wordt gewond geraakt, which is more formal. Tom raakt gewond is more direct and common in everyday speech.
Is gewond a verb or an adjective here?
Gewond is the past participle of verwonden, but in this sentence it functions as an adjective describing Tom’s state. It tells you how Tom ends up: injured.
Could you literally translate Tom raakt gewond as “Tom hits injured”?
No. While raken can mean “to hit” in other contexts (e.g. de bal raakt het net “the ball hits the net”), in combination with a past participle like gewond it means “to get” or “to become.” Context determines the correct translation.
Why is in de keuken placed at the end of the sentence?
Dutch word order for a simple statement is Subject – Finite Verb – Object/Complement – Adverbial (time/place/manner). Tom (subject) raakt (verb) gewond (complement) in de keuken (place adverbial).
Why do we use in with de keuken and not op?
You use in for enclosed spaces like rooms (in de keuken, “in the kitchen”). Op means “on” (a surface) or sometimes “at” (a specific spot), so it wouldn’t be correct for being inside a room.
How do you pronounce raakt gewond?
Raakt is pronounced roughly /raːkt/, with a long “aa” like in “car” and a hard “kt” ending. Gewond is /ɣəˈwɔnt/, with the Dutch g as a voiced uvular fricative (a throaty “g”), schwa in the first syllable, and “wont” like “want” but with an “o.”