Prepositional infinitive clauses
To express how you do something, or what you do without or instead of doing something else, Dutch uses prepositional infinitive clauses. These usually translate to English phrases ending in "-ing".
The standard structure is: preposition + [rest of the phrase] + te + infinitive.
By doing: door ... te
Use door to describe the method or cause (by doing something). Place te right in front of the infinitive at the very end of the clause.
| You learn a lot by checking this app every day. | Je leert veel door deze app elke dag te checken. |
If the infinitive is a separable verb (like uitzetten), te goes between the prefix and the verb stem, written as three separate words (e.g., uit te zetten).
| You become calm by turning off every notification. | Je wordt rustig door elke melding uit te zetten. |
Without doing: zonder ... te
To describe performing an action while avoiding another, use zonder (without).
| She sleeps better without checking her smartphone. | Zij slaapt beter zonder haar smartphone te checken. |
| He uses the smartphone without becoming addicted. | Hij gebruikt de smartphone zonder verslaafd te worden. |
Instead of doing: in plaats van ... te
When you choose one activity over an alternative, use in plaats van (instead of).
| We read a book instead of scrolling on this app. | Wij lezen een boek in plaats van op deze app te scrollen. |
You can put the prepositional clause at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. When you do, the main clause undergoes inversion (verb before subject).
| Instead of scrolling, I prefer to be offline. | In plaats van te scrollen, ben ik liever offline. |
| Instead of checking the news, he was offline. | In plaats van het nieuws te checken, was hij offline. |