Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Een snelle levering zou het project flink versnellen, zegt Tom.
Why is snelle used instead of snel before levering?
In Dutch, adjectives preceding a noun almost always take an -e ending when the noun has an article (definite de/het or indefinite een). Here levering is a de-word, so you add -e: een snelle levering. If you used the adjective in predicate position (after a linking verb), it stays plain: De levering is snel.
What does zou indicate in this sentence?
Zou is the past-tense form of zullen, used to express the conditional (hypothetical) mood. It translates as “would” in English. So Een snelle levering zou het project flink versnellen = “A fast delivery would speed up the project considerably.”
Why is the infinitive versnellen at the end of the clause instead of a conjugated form like versnelt?
Because zou is a modal verb, it carries the finite form, and the main verb goes to the end in its infinitive form. Dutch follows a V2 (verb-second) rule for the finite verb, then pushes any non-finite verbs (here versnellen) to the clause’s tail.
What does flink mean here, and why is it placed before the verb?
Flink is an adverb meaning “considerably,” “significantly,” or “quite.” In Dutch main clauses with objects, manner adverbs typically come after the object but before the main verb. Hence: object (het project) → adverb (flink) → infinitive (versnellen).
Why do we use een before snelle levering but het before project?
Een is the indefinite article (“a”), indicating any fast delivery in general. Het is the definite article (“the”), because project refers to a specific project you and your listener have in mind. In English: “A fast delivery would speed up the project”—the delivery is indefinite, the project is definite.
Why are the words zegt Tom placed at the end, and why does the verb come before the name?
After a comma you can attach a reporting clause: …, zegt Tom. In Dutch main clauses (even short ones), the finite verb stays in second position if something precedes it (here the comma signals a new clause), but if it starts the clause, the verb goes first and the subject second. So it’s Zegt Tom, literally “says Tom.”
Could you rewrite this sentence as a subordinate clause with dat?
Yes. You would move the finite verb to the end and introduce dat:
Tom zegt dat een snelle levering het project flink zou versnellen.
Notice now zou follows the subject–object order, and versnellen stays at the very end.
Can you drop the article een and simply say Snelle levering zou het project flink versnellen?
You can in very abstract or headline-style Dutch (e.g. in bullet points or slogans), but in everyday speech or writing you’d normally include een. Dropping it makes the phrase sound more like a general concept or title than a concrete suggestion.