Breakdown of Hij beloofde dat hij spoedig terug zou bellen, en dat deed hij onmiddellijk.
hij
he
en
and
dat
that
doen
to do
zullen
would
beloven
to promise
spoedig
soon
terugbellen
to call back
onmiddellijk
immediately
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Questions & Answers about Hij beloofde dat hij spoedig terug zou bellen, en dat deed hij onmiddellijk.
Why is the verb cluster “spoedig terug zou bellen” placed at the very end of the clause?
Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by dat (“that”). In Dutch subordinate clauses the finite verb (here zou) and any infinitives (here bellen) move to the end of the clause. Everything else (subject, adverbs, separable prefixes) comes before that verb cluster.
Why does the sentence use “zou bellen” instead of “zal bellen”?
This is an example of reported speech in the past. The original promise would have been “Ik zal spoedig terugbellen” (“I will call back soon”). When you turn that into an indirect statement in a past-tense main clause (“Hij beloofde…”), you shift zal into its past form zou to keep the sequence of tenses.
What role does the dat play at the start of the second clause (“en dat deed hij onmiddellijk”)?
Here dat is a demonstrative pronoun referring back to the action of calling back. It replaces repeating the whole clause “hij spoedig terug zou bellen.” Placing dat first also sets up the verb-second (V2) word order in the main clause that follows.
Why is the verb doen used in “dat deed hij onmiddellijk” instead of repeating bellen?
Dutch often uses doen as a pro-verb—just like English “did”—to avoid repeating the main verb. So deed hij (“he did”) stands in for “he called back” and makes the sentence less clunky.
Can you explain the word order in “en dat deed hij onmiddellijk”?
This is a main (coordinated) clause, so it follows the Dutch V2 rule. Breakdown:
1) First constituent: dat (the pronoun)
2) Second: finite verb deed
3) Third: subject hij
4) Then any adverbials: onmiddellijk
Could you rewrite the first part using an infinitive clause instead of dat + finite verb?
Yes. A more concise alternative is:
“Hij beloofde spoedig terug te bellen.”
Note, however, that in that construction you normally add the indirect object pronoun (me or mij) if needed:
“Hij beloofde me spoedig terug te bellen.”
Why isn’t there a te before bellen in “terug zou bellen”?
Because te + infinitive is only used in non-finite infinitival clauses. Here we have a finite subordinate clause introduced by dat and the finite verb zou, so te is not used.
How does the separable verb terugbellen behave in the clause “dat hij spoedig terug zou bellen”?
Terugbellen is a separable verb. In a subordinate clause with a modal (here zou bellen), the separable prefix terug appears just before the verb cluster, and the entire cluster sits at the end of the clause. Hence spoedig (adverb) comes first, then terug, then the modal-infinitive cluster zou bellen.