Breakdown of De dokter controleerde haar hals.
controleren
to check
haar
her
de dokter
the doctor
de hals
the neck (external front or sides, not the nape)
Questions & Answers about De dokter controleerde haar hals.
Does controleren really mean to control here?
Not in the English sense of to dominate or to be in charge of. In Dutch, controleren very often means to check, to inspect, or to examine.
So in De dokter controleerde haar hals, it means the doctor checked/examined her neck.
If you want to control in the sense of to manage or to keep under control, Dutch often uses verbs like beheersen or expressions with onder controle houden.
Why is the verb controleerde?
Controleerde is the simple past tense (imperfect) of controleren.
- Infinitive: controleren
- Stem: controleer-
- Past singular: controleerde
- Past plural: controleerden
- Past participle: gecontroleerd
It takes -de in the past because it is a regular weak verb, and the final sound of the stem is not one that triggers -te under the 't kofschip rule.
What does haar mean here?