Volgens Tom is het plot van de verfilming anders dan in het boek.

Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb must be in second position.

In this sentence:

• Volgens Tom = first element (a prepositional phrase)
• is = finite verb → must come second
• het plot van de verfilming = subject + rest of the predicate

So the order becomes:

• Volgens Tom (1) is (2) het plot van de verfilming anders dan in het boek.

If you start with the subject instead, you get:

• Het plot van de verfilming is volgens Tom anders dan in het boek.

Here Het plot van de verfilming is first, so is comes second, and volgens Tom moves later in the sentence. Both word orders are correct; they just emphasize different parts slightly.

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct.

Two common variants:

1. Volgens Tom is het plot van de verfilming anders dan in het boek.
   – Fronts volgens Tom, highlighting that this is Tom’s opinion.

2. Het plot van de verfilming is volgens Tom anders dan in het boek.
   – Starts with the subject; the volgens Tom part is a bit less prominent.

The meaning is the same; it’s mostly a matter of emphasis and style.

Volgens is a preposition meaning according to.

Typical pattern:
volgens + noun/pronoun (no article before a personal pronoun)

Examples:

• Volgens Tom is het waar. – According to Tom, it is true.
• Volgens mij heb je gelijk. – According to me / I think you’re right.
• Volgens de dokter moet ik rust nemen. – According to the doctor I must rest.

You cannot say “volgens de hij”; you must say volgens hem.

In standard Dutch, plot is mostly treated as a het‑word (neuter noun):

• het plot, een plot, dat plot

You might hear de plot in informal speech or under influence of English, but dictionaries usually give het plot as the default.

Compare:

• het verhaal (the story)
• het script (the script)
• het plot (the plot)

So in this sentence het is the correct article.

Van de verfilming literally means of the film adaptation.

Structure:

• het plot = the plot
• van de verfilming = of the film adaptation

So:

• het plot van de verfilming = the plot of the film adaptation

This van‑phrase works much like English of‑phrases:

• het einde van het boek – the end of the book
• de titel van de film – the title of the movie
• het plot van de verfilming – the plot of the adaptation

• de film = the film/movie itself.
• de verfilming (van een boek) = the film adaptation of a book.

So:

• Het boek is verfilmd. – The book has been made into a movie.
• De verfilming is erg geslaagd. – The film adaptation is very successful.

In your sentence, verfilming makes it clear this is a movie based on the book, not just any film.

In standard Dutch, after anders you should use dan, not als:

• anders dan = different than/from

So:

• Het plot is anders dan in het boek. ✅ (standard)
• Het plot is anders als in het boek. ❌ (non‑standard / dialectal)

You may hear anders als in some regions and in colloquial speech, but if you’re learning standard Dutch, use anders dan.

Dutch dan has two main uses:

1. Comparative “than” (as in this sentence):

   • anders dan – different than/from
   • groter dan – bigger than
   • beter dan – better than

2. Temporal “then”:

   • Eerst eten we, dan gaan we weg. – First we eat, then we leave.

In your sentence, dan is clearly the comparative “than”, not the temporal “then”.

Both are grammatically possible but they don’t mean the same.

• anders dan in het boek
  = different than it is in the book (i.e. “different from the version that appears in the book”)

• anders dan het boek
  = different than the book (is) – comparing the plot of the movie directly with the book as a whole, which sounds odd here.

In context, we’re comparing:

• the plot in the film adaptation
  with
• the plot in the book,

so anders dan in het boek is natural: “different than (it is) in the book.”

• in het boek = in the book, i.e. contained within the book.
• van het boek = of the book / belonging to the book.

We usually talk about:

• het verhaal in het boek – the story in the book
• het plot in het boek – the plot in the book

So:

• Het plot van de verfilming is anders dan in het boek.
  = The plot in the film adaptation is different than it is in the book.

Van het boek would sound more like ownership or association (the book’s something), which isn’t what you want here.

Yes, grammatically that works:

• Volgens Tom is het plot anders dan in het boek.

But then het plot is less specific; it could be unclear what plot you mean unless the context already makes it obvious (for example, if you’ve just been talking about the movie).

Van de verfilming tells us which plot is being discussed: the plot of the film adaptation.

In modern Dutch, no comma is required here:

• Volgens Tom is het plot van de verfilming anders dan in het boek.

You might see a comma in older or more formal writing (Volgens Tom, is het plot…), but it’s not standard now and can look old‑fashioned or even incorrect in contemporary style guides. So it’s best to omit the comma.

Often, yes, but there is a nuance:

• het verhaal = the story (broader: everything that happens, the narrative)
• het plot = the plot (more about the structure of events and twists; a bit more technical / film‑talk / review language)

In everyday speech:

• Het verhaal van de film is anders dan in het boek. – very natural.

In a review or more “technical” discussion about narrative structure, plot is common. Both versions are acceptable; verhaal might even sound more natural in casual contexts.

Yes, a few common alternatives:

• verschillend van

  • Het plot van de verfilming is verschillend van dat in het boek.
    (more formal; sounds a bit heavy here)

• afwijkend van

  • Het plot van de verfilming is afwijkend van het plot in het boek.
    (suggests “deviating from”, often more negative or technical)

For everyday use, anders dan is the most natural and neutral choice.