Breakdown of Iedereen heeft een eigen rol in onze nieuwe structuur.
hebben
to have
in
in
nieuw
new
onze
our
een
a, an
iedereen
everyone
eigen
own
de rol
the role
de structuur
the structure
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Questions & Answers about Iedereen heeft een eigen rol in onze nieuwe structuur.
What does iedereen mean and why is it treated as singular in Dutch?
iedereen translates to everyone or everybody in English. Even though it refers to all people, grammatically iedereen is singular in Dutch, so it takes a third-person singular verb form.
Why is heeft used instead of hebben?
Because the subject iedereen is singular, you use the singular form heeft of the verb hebben. The plural form hebben would only appear with a plural subject like we or zij.
What function does eigen serve in this sentence?
Here eigen is an adjective meaning own. It describes that each person has a role that belongs specifically to them—literally “a role of their own.”
Why is there an indefinite article een before eigen rol?
In Dutch, a singular countable noun normally needs an article or determiner. Here een (a/an) combines with eigen to form een eigen rol, meaning “a role of one’s own.” You can’t drop een in a neutral statement like this.
Why does nieuwe end with -e?
Adjectives in attributive position (before a noun) take the weak inflection -e when the noun phrase is determined by a definite article, possessive, demonstrative, number, etc. Since structuur is preceded by the possessive onze, the adjective becomes nieuwe.
Why is it onze instead of ons?
Dutch uses onze before common-gender nouns (de-words) and ons before neuter nouns (het-words). Because structuur is a de-woord, you must use onze.
Could you say Iedereen heeft zijn eigen rol instead, and what’s the difference?
Yes, Iedereen heeft zijn eigen rol is also correct. Using zijn eigen rol (“his own role”) explicitly marks possession with the generic zijn, which in modern Dutch is understood neutrally (their). The version with een eigen rol sounds slightly more abstract and avoids even the neutral “zijn.”
What’s the nuance between rol and functie in Dutch?
Both can translate as “role” or “function” in English, but rol usually refers to the part someone plays in a process, team or system (a social or conceptual role). functie often refers to an official job title, position or technical function.
What part of speech is structuur, and is it a de- or het-word?
structuur is a noun borrowed from Latin. It is a de-word (common gender) in Dutch, so you say de structuur and use onze as the possessive.
Can you move in onze nieuwe structuur to the front of the sentence, and what changes?
Yes. If you place the prepositional phrase up front, you obey the Dutch verb-second (V2) rule and invert subject and verb:
In onze nieuwe structuur heeft iedereen een eigen rol.
This emphasizes the new structure but keeps the same meaning.