# moest het wezen



## BinWord

Hallo collegas of taal liefhebbers,

Voordat ik het vertaal wil ik graag kontroleren of ik dat juist begrepen heb.
Hier is de volgende zin:
De opleiding tot secretaresse moest het wezen: moderne talen, zoals dat heette, typen en stenographie.

Wat bedoelen we precies met "De opleiding tot secretaresse moest het wezen"?

Alvast bedankt!


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## Suehil

'It had to be a secretarial course'

'Wezen' is sometimes used instead of 'zijn'.


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## BinWord

Thank you heartfully Suehil.
We both think similar but the construction of the sentence still puts me on alert.
I translated into Turkish as follows:
The education she would receive had to be an education designed to help her become a secretary.
I know it sounds pompous, still it would be good to know you agree with me.
Best regards,


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## Suehil

It rather depends on the rest of the context.  It might be something along the lines of 'A secretarial course was the obvious choice for her'.  
'An education designed to help her become a secretary' sounds a little stiff, and 'moest het wezen' is not particularly formal.


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## jacquesvd

Suehil said:


> It rather depends on the rest of the context. It might be something along the lines of 'A secretarial course was the obvious choice for her'.
> 'An education designed to help her become a secretary' sounds a little stiff, and 'moest het wezen' is not particularly formal.


 
The translation 'it had to be a secretarial course' is perfect but I don't know if it carries the underlying meaning that the sentence has in Dutch, namely: nothing else would do.


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## Suehil

Yes, it does.  At least, in any context I can think of.


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## BinWord

Dear Suehil and dear jacquesvd,

Thank you for all your help! The composition I made above somehow fits good in Turkish but thanks to your comments I decided to be 100% loyal to its original (both in English and in Dutch).

Keep wel en prettige dag verder!


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