Breakdown of Tom wil het probleem niet ontkennen, maar hij kent de details nog niet.
Tom
Tom
niet
not
maar
but
hij
he
willen
to want
nog
still
het detail
the detail
het probleem
the problem
kennen
to know
ontkennen
to deny
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Questions & Answers about Tom wil het probleem niet ontkennen, maar hij kent de details nog niet.
Why is wil used here instead of wilt?
In Standard Dutch the verb willen (to want) is conjugated as follows:
- ik wil
- jij wilt (though many speakers also say jij wil)
- hij/zij/het wil
Since Tom is third person singular, you use wil rather than wilt.
Why is het probleem used and not de probleem?
Dutch nouns are either common gender (de-words) or neuter (het-words). Probleem is a neuter noun, so it takes the definite article het.
Why does niet come before ontkennen and not right after wil?
Dutch word order rules for a main clause with a modal + infinitive are:
- The finite verb (wil) stays in second position.
- The rest of the verb cluster (here niet ontkennen) moves to the end.
- Niet usually appears directly before the part of the clause it negates—in this case the infinitive ontkennen—so it sits just in front of it after the object.
Why is ontkennen not split into ont + kennen?
Ontkennen is an inseparable-prefix verb. Inseparable verbs (like ont-, be-, ver-) always stay together, even in verb clusters. Separable verbs (like opbellen) would split: e.g., hij wil hem opbellen.
Why is there a comma before maar?
In Dutch, when two independent (main) clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction such as maar, a comma is generally used to separate them—much like in English.
Why is the word order maar hij kent de details nog niet and not maar hij de details kent nog niet?
Maar is a coordinating conjunction, so the second clause remains a main clause with V2 word order. That means the finite verb (kent) must appear in second position after the subject (hij).
What’s the difference between nog niet and just niet?
- Niet = not (simple negation).
- Nog niet = not yet, implying the situation may change in the future.
Why use kennen here instead of weten?
Both can translate as to know, but:
- kennen = to be familiar with or acquainted with something (people, topics, sets of information).
- weten = to know facts or information.
In this sentence kennen de details suggests Tom hasn’t yet become familiar with the details; you could also say hij weet de details nog niet, but kennen emphasizes acquaintance or deeper familiarity.