Breakdown of Hardop lezen wordt beschouwd als een effectieve studiemethode.
lezen
to read
een
a, an
als
as
hardop
aloud
effectief
effective
worden beschouwd
to be considered
de studiemethode
the study method
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Questions & Answers about Hardop lezen wordt beschouwd als een effectieve studiemethode.
Why is hardop lezen in its infinitive form instead of using te before lezen (like hardop te lezen)?
In Dutch you don’t add te when you use an infinitive as the subject of a sentence. Here hardop lezen (“reading aloud”) functions like a noun (a verbal noun), so it stays in the bare infinitive form. If you wanted an infinitive clause after a verb, you’d use te, but as the grammatical subject, no te is needed.
What part of speech is hardop, and why does it come before lezen?
hardop is an adverb meaning “out loud” or “aloud.” It modifies the verb lezen. In Dutch, most adverbs precede the verb they modify, so hardop lezen literally means “to read out loud.”
Why is the sentence in the passive voice with wordt beschouwd instead of an active construction?
Dutch often uses the passive to emphasize the action over the actor.
- wordt beschouwd = “is considered” (present passive of beschouwen).
- In active voice you’d need an actor, e.g. “Mensen beschouwen hardop lezen…,” but that shifts the focus to “people.” Passive keeps the focus on hardop lezen itself.
How do you form the passive in Dutch, as seen in wordt beschouwd?
Use the auxiliary worden (in the correct tense/person) + past participle of the main verb:
- worden (present 3rd person singular = wordt)
- beschouwen → past participle beschouwd
Combine: wordt beschouwd = “is considered.”
What role does als play in beschouwd als een effectieve studiemethode?
als means “as.” It introduces the role or category into which something is placed. So beschouwd als een effectieve studiemethode means “considered as an effective study method.”
Why is there no definite article before effectieve studiemethode?
The sentence states the concept in general, not a specific method. Using the indefinite article een (“a”) is correct for “an effective study method.” A definite article (de or het) would imply a particular method known to both speaker and listener.
Why does effectieve end with -e here?
In Dutch, attributive adjectives preceding a noun take an -e if the noun is:
- common gender (de-words) or plural, or
- singular neuter with a definite article (het).
Here studiemethode is a de-word, singular, and preceded by een, so effectief becomes effectieve.
How is the compound noun studiemethode formed, and is it one word?
Dutch often joins related nouns into compounds. Here:
- studie (“study”) + methode (“method”) → studiemethode (“study method”)
It’s written as one word with no space or hyphen.
Could you express the same idea in an active voice?
Yes. For example:
• Mensen beschouwen hardop lezen als een effectieve studiemethode.
This means “People consider reading aloud an effective study method,” shifting focus onto mensen (“people”) as the subject.