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Breakdown of Vervolgens vroeg hij om een handtekening als bewijs.
hij
he
een
a, an
als
as
het bewijs
the proof
vervolgens
afterwards
vragen om
to ask for
de handtekening
the signature
Questions & Answers about Vervolgens vroeg hij om een handtekening als bewijs.
What is the meaning and function of vervolgens in this sentence?
vervolgens is an adverb meaning “then,” “after that,” or “subsequently.” It indicates that this action follows something mentioned earlier. In Dutch, such adverbs often start a sentence to show sequence.
Why does vroeg appear before hij instead of the usual Subject-Verb order?
Dutch follows the V2 (verb-second) word‐order rule: if a sentence begins with something other than the subject (here vervolgens), the finite verb comes in second place and the subject follows. Hence vroeg hij rather than hij vroeg.
Why is there an om after vroeg?
In Dutch, the verb vragen takes the preposition om when you “ask for” something. The construction iemand om iets vragen literally means “to ask someone for something.” Here, “he asked for a signature” is hij vroeg om een handtekening.
Why is it een handtekening (a noun) and not an infinitive like “to sign”?
He’s requesting a physical object—a signature—so you use the noun handtekening. If you wanted to say “he asked him to sign,” you’d use an infinitive: hij vroeg hem te tekenen.
What does als bewijs mean, and why use als?
als here means “as” in the sense of “in the role of” or “for the purpose of.” als bewijs = “as proof.” It’s a common way to specify the function or purpose of something in Dutch.
Why is the simple past vroeg used instead of a perfect tense like heeft gevraagd?
In Dutch narratives and descriptions of sequential events, the simple past (imperfectum) is more common than the perfect for past actions. So vroeg rather than heeft gevraagd fits the typical storytelling style.
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