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Questions & Answers about Tom is trots op het team.
Why is it trots op and not trots van or trots over?
In Dutch, the adjective trots takes the preposition op; it’s a fixed collocation meaning proud of. Using van or over is incorrect in this meaning. Examples: Ik ben trots op mijn team.; Zij is trots op haar zoon.
What part of speech is trots here, and why doesn’t it get an -e ending?
It’s an adjective used predicatively after zijn. Predicative adjectives in Dutch don’t take the -e ending: Tom is trots. Attributively, before a noun, it does take -e: een trotse vader, de trotse coach.
Why het team and not de team?
Team is a neuter noun in Dutch, so the definite article is het: het team. In the plural it becomes de teams. Many English loanwords are neuter, but it’s best to learn the article with each noun.
Do I need a possessive, like zijn team?
Not necessarily. Tom is trots op het team refers to a specific team understood from context (e.g., the one just mentioned). Add a possessive to make ownership explicit: Tom is trots op zijn team = Tom is proud of his own team.
How do you pronounce the words?
- Tom: like English Tom.
- is: like English is but with a short, clean vowel.
- trots: short o (like English cot), final consonant cluster -ts.
- op: short o; the p is pronounced.
- team: pronounced like English teem (long ee sound).
Can I move op het team to the front for emphasis?
Yes. Dutch allows topicalization with the finite verb in second position (V2): Op het team is Tom trots. The neutral sentence, though, is Tom is trots op het team.
What happens in a subordinate clause?
The finite verb goes to the end: Omdat Tom trots op het team is. Here trots op het team stays together as a unit before is.
How do I make it negative?
Place niet before the predicate: Tom is niet trots op het team. For a contrast, you can say: Tom is niet trots op het team, maar op zichzelf.
How can I intensify trots?
Common intensifiers: heel, erg, zeer (formal), ontzettend, super. Examples: Tom is heel/erg/ontzettend trots op het team. You can also say best wel trots for quite proud.
What pronouns do I use after op?
After a preposition you use the stressed forms: op mij, op jou, op hem, op haar, op ons, op jullie, op hen. Examples: Ik ben trots op jou.; We zijn trots op hen.
Is there a difference between the adjective trots and the noun trots?
Yes. In the sentence, trots is an adjective meaning proud. As a noun, de trots means pride: Zijn trots is groot. You do not say hebben trots for being proud; use trots zijn op.
Why is it is and not ben/bent?
Is is the third-person singular of zijn (to be). Conjugation: ik ben, jij/je bent, hij/zij/het is, wij/jullie/zij zijn. With Tom (he), you use is.
How do I say this in the past or with the perfect?
- Simple past: Tom was trots op het team.
- Perfect: Tom is trots op het team geweest. The perfect emphasizes the completed state; the simple past is more common in narratives.
How do I refer to a whole clause after trots op?
Use the pronominal adverb pattern er … op plus a dat-clause: Tom is er trots op dat het team won. If the object is a thing already mentioned, you can also say Tom is er trots op.