Breakdown of In het huurcontract staat dat reparaties binnen twee dagen worden uitgevoerd.
in
in
dat
that
staan
to stand
de dag
the day
twee
two
de reparatie
the repair
uitvoeren
to carry out
het huurcontract
the rental contract
binnen
within
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Questions & Answers about In het huurcontract staat dat reparaties binnen twee dagen worden uitgevoerd.
Why is dat used after staat?
dat is the Dutch complementizer meaning that, used to introduce the subordinate clause after verbs of stating. In In het huurcontract staat dat… it links staat (“says”) with the reported content. In formal Dutch you normally keep dat; omitting it is possible colloquially but less common in writing.
Why is staat singular even though huurcontract seems to involve multiple clauses?
staat is conjugated in the third person singular because its subject is het huurcontract (singular neuter). Here staan doesn’t literally mean “stand,” but functions as “state” or “say” in expressions like in het contract staat dat… (“the contract says that…”).
What does binnen twee dagen mean, and why is binnen used instead of in?
binnen twee dagen means within two days, indicating the maximum time allowed for completion. Using in twee dagen would simply describe a duration (“in two days”), without the explicit “at most” nuance conveyed by binnen.
Why is there no article before reparaties?
When referring to things in general with an indefinite plural, Dutch omits the article. Here reparaties means any/all repairs. If you meant specific repairs already identified, you could say de reparaties.
How is the passive expressed by worden uitgevoerd?
Dutch forms the present passive by combining the auxiliary worden (“to become”) with the past participle of the main verb. uitvoeren (“to carry out”) becomes uitgevoerd, so worden uitgevoerd literally means “are carried out.”
Why do worden and uitgevoerd appear at the end of the sentence?
In a subordinate clause introduced by dat, Dutch pushes all verbs to the end. Verb clusters (auxiliary + participle) stay together. The standard order is auxiliary before participle (worden uitgevoerd), though some speakers also use uitgevoerd worden.
Can I start the sentence with Er staat instead of In het huurcontract staat?
Yes. Er staat in het huurcontract dat… is a common impersonal construction where er acts as a dummy subject (“there says in the rental contract that…”). If you front the location phrase (In het huurcontract), you drop er.
Why is it het huurcontract and not de huurcontract?
In Dutch contract is a neuter noun, so it takes the definite article het. When you form a compound like huurcontract, it inherits its head noun’s gender, hence het huurcontract.