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Breakdown of Als iemand je werk bekritiseert, hoef je dat niet direct te ontkennen.
niet
not
dat
that
het werk
the work
als
if
je
you
direct
directly
je
your
iemand
someone
hoeven
to need
ontkennen
to deny
bekritiseren
to criticize
Questions & Answers about Als iemand je werk bekritiseert, hoef je dat niet direct te ontkennen.
What does bekritiseert mean?
It’s the 3rd person singular present of bekritiseren, meaning “to criticize.” So iemand bekritiseert je werk = “someone criticizes your work.”
Why is bekritiseert at the end of the subordinate clause?
In Dutch subordinate clauses (introduced by conjunctions like als), the finite verb goes to the very end of that clause.
Why use hoeven instead of moeten?
moeten expresses necessity (“must/have to”), whereas hoeven in the negative means “do not have to” (absence of necessity). Here it tells you there’s no requirement to deny immediately.
Why is there a te before ontkennen?
When hoeven is negated, it takes te + infinitive for the verb that follows. Hence hoef je dat niet te ontkennen.
Why is hoef at the beginning of the main clause?
Because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause (Als iemand je werk bekritiseert), Dutch word-order rules invert the following main clause: finite verb first, then subject.
What does dat refer to?
It refers back to the entire idea that someone criticizes your work—the “criticism” itself—serving as the direct-object pronoun for ontkennen.
Could we use het instead of dat here?
Yes. het can also stand for a whole proposition: Je hoeft het niet direct te ontkennen. But dat is more common when pointing to something just mentioned.
Why doesn’t ontkennen split into ont- and kennen?
Because ontkennen is a non-separable verb. Its prefix ont- always stays attached in every form.
What does direct mean in this sentence?
It means “immediately” or “right away.” You could replace it with direct (same spelling), gelijk, or onmiddellijk, but direct is concise and very common.
How else could I phrase this advice?
Here are a few alternatives:
• Je hoeft niet meteen te ontkennen als iemand je werk bekritiseert.
• Als iemand commentaar heeft op je werk, hoef je dat niet direct weg te wuiven.
• Je hoeft dat echt niet direct te ontkennen wanneer iemand je werk bekritiseert.
All convey the same idea—just different word choices or structure.
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