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9<br />
Negatives<br />
66<br />
The position of niet in subordinated sentences<br />
In a subordinated sentence, niet must precede the finite v<strong>er</strong>b or v<strong>er</strong>b group<br />
at the end of the sentence. Examples:<br />
Het is jamm<strong>er</strong> dat Erik niet komt.<br />
It is too bad Erik isn’t coming.<br />
Het is jamm<strong>er</strong> dat Erik niet is gekomen.<br />
It is too bad that Erik didn’t come.<br />
Erik belt op omdat hij niet kan komen.<br />
Erik phones because he cannot come.<br />
In subordinated sentences with the pronominal adv<strong>er</strong>b <strong>er</strong>-, hi<strong>er</strong>- and<br />
daar- with a preposition, niet precedes the preposition. Examples:<br />
Erik zegt dat hij <strong>er</strong> niet ov<strong>er</strong> wil praten.<br />
Erik says he doesn’t want to talk about it.<br />
Sanne zegt dat ze hi<strong>er</strong> niet aan gedacht heeft.<br />
Sanne says she didn’t think about this.<br />
Note: hi<strong>er</strong> + preposition and daar + preposition also appear unseparated.<br />
In that case niet follows the pronominal adv<strong>er</strong>b. Examples:<br />
Sanne zegt dat ze hi<strong>er</strong>ov<strong>er</strong> niet praat.<br />
Sanne says she doesn’t talk about this.<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong> zegt dat hij daarmee niet tevreden is.<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong> says he isn’t satisfied with that.<br />
V<strong>er</strong>bs that express an opinion<br />
In a sentence with a v<strong>er</strong>b that expresses an opinion, the position of<br />
niet can be twofold. It can be in the main sentence, following the v<strong>er</strong>b<br />
of opinion (denken, vinden, geloven), or it can be placed at the end<br />
of the subordinated sentence, before the finite v<strong>er</strong>b or v<strong>er</strong>b group.<br />
Examples:<br />
Ik denk niet dat Erik vanavond komt. I don’t believe Erik is<br />
coming tonight.<br />
Ik denk dat Erik vanavond niet komt. I believe Erik isn’t coming<br />
tonight.