Breakdown of Tom likt de lepel af en zegt dat het beslag perfect is gelukt.
Tom
Tom
en
and
dat
that
zeggen
to say
lukken
to succeed
perfect
perfect
het beslag
the batter
de lepel
the spoon
aflikken
to lick clean
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Questions & Answers about Tom likt de lepel af en zegt dat het beslag perfect is gelukt.
What does aflikken mean in this sentence and why is it split into likt and af?
aflikken is a separable verb meaning “to lick off.” In Dutch main clauses the prefix af- separates and moves to the end. So likt is the conjugated part of likken (to lick), and af comes after the object (de lepel).
Why is de used before lepel but het before beslag?
Dutch has two grammatical genders for nouns: de for common gender and het for neuter.
- lepel (“spoon”) is a common‐gender noun → de lepel
- beslag (“batter/mixture”) is a neuter noun → het beslag
Why does the phrase use is gelukt instead of heeft gelukt?
The verb gelukken (“to succeed/turn out well”) is intransitive and takes zijn (“to be”) as its auxiliary in the perfect tense, not hebben. So you say het beslag is gelukt (“the batter turned out well”).
What’s the difference between beslag and deeg?
- beslag refers to a runny or pourable mixture, like cake batter or pancake batter.
- deeg is a thicker, kneadable dough, like bread dough or cookie dough.
Why is the verb at the very end in dat het beslag perfect is gelukt?
In Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by dat (“that”), the finite verb moves to the clause’s end. So you get: dat + subject + object/adverbials + is gelukt.
Could you say Tom likte de lepel af instead of likt?
Yes. likte is the simple past (imperfect) form: Tom likte de lepel af = “Tom licked the spoon off.” The original uses the narrative present (likt) to make the action feel immediate.
How would you translate het beslag is gelukt literally, and what’s the natural English equivalent?
Literally: “the batter has succeeded.”
Natural: “the batter turned out perfectly” or “the batter came out just right.”
Why is the adjective perfect not inflected (no perfecte) in perfect is gelukt?
In Dutch, predicative adjectives (those linked by a form of zijn, worden, etc.) remain uninflected:
- Correct: Het is warm. / Het is perfect gelukt.
- Incorrect: Het is warme. / Het is perfecte gelukt.