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When using a reflexive verb (like *zich focussen* or *zich concentreren*) in an infinitive clause, you must include its reflexive pronoun (*me*, *je*, *zich*, *ons*, etc.).

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### Infinitive clauses with "om ... te"

To say "in order to" or express purpose, Dutch uses the *om ... te* structure. When the verb is reflexive, the reflexive pronoun must match the main subject of the sentence (the person performing the action). The pronoun is placed right after *om*.

**om + reflexive pronoun + te + infinitive**

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### Adding details

If you want to add extra details to the infinitive clause, such as an adverb or a prepositional phrase, these are placed directly between the reflexive pronoun and the *te* block.

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### Clauses without "om"

Certain verbs, like *proberen* (to try), trigger an infinitive clause that uses *te* but drops the *om*. The rules for the reflexive pronoun stay the same: it must match the logical subject and comes before any extra details and the *te* block.

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Reflexive pronouns in infinitive clauses (om zich te...)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and 'to be' (ik ben, hij is)

The formal 'you' (u bent)

Definite articles (de, het)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (wij zijn)

The verb 'to have' (hebben)

Basic word order

Numbers 1 to 10 (een, twee, drie)

Verb stems and the 'I' form (ik werk)

Long vowels in verb stems (maken, ik maak)

Short vowels in verb stems (zitten, ik zit)

Present tense singular (-t)

Present tense plural (-en)

Yes/no questions

Question words (wie, wat, waar)

Noun negation (geen)

Plural nouns (-en)

Plural nouns (-s)

Diminutives (-je)

Adjective modifiers (heel, erg, te)

Verb negation (niet)

Singular possessives (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar)

Plural and formal possessives (ons/onze, jullie, hun, uw)

This and these (deze, dit)

That and those (die, dat)

Asking which (welke, welk)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elf, twaalf, dertien...)

Tens and compound numbers (dertig, veertig...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (eerste, tweede...)

Telling time: hours and half hours (uur, half)

Telling time: quarters (kwart over, kwart voor)

Question words (hoeveel, waarom)

Irregular verbs (doen, gaan, staan, zien, komen)

Adjective endings (+e)

Adjectives with 'het' words

Prepositions of place (uit, bij)

Subject-verb inversion

Time before place

Modal verbs (willen, kunnen)

Modal verbs (moeten, mogen)

The verb bracket

Separable prefix verbs

The imperative mood (kom, luister)

Singular object pronouns (mij, jou, hem, haar)

Plural and formal object pronouns (ons, jullie, hen, u)

Reflexive verbs and pronouns (zich, me, je)

Position of negation (niet)

The present perfect tense with regular verbs (hebben gewerkt)

The present perfect tense with motion verbs (zijn gegaan)

Irregular past participles (gezien, gedaan)

The present continuous (zijn aan het)

There is / there are (er is, er zijn)

Unstressed there (er)

And, but, or (en, maar, of)

Because (want)

Months of the year

Prepositions of time (om, van ... tot)

Greetings and politeness

Conversational glue

Prepositions with days (op)

Prepositions with seasons (in)

Genitive of time ('s morgens, 's nachts)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

The future tense (gaan)

The future tense (zullen)

Separable verbs with auxiliary verbs

Apostrophe plurals ('-s)

Irregular plurals (-eren)

Complex diminutives (-pje, -etje, -kje)

Possessive 's (Jan's, vaders)

Indefinite pronouns (iets, niemand, alles)

Indefinite subject pronoun (je)

Reciprocal pronoun (elkaar)

Comparative adjectives (-er dan)

Comparatives with spelling change (-der)

Superlative adjectives (-st)

Irregular comparisons (beter, meer, minder)

Expressing preference (graag, liever, het liefst)

Equality comparisons (even ... als)

Fixed prepositions

That clauses (dat)

Because clauses (omdat)

If and when clauses (als)

Inversion after clauses

Separable verbs in clauses

Negation in clauses (niet)

Past tense of to be (was / waren)

Past tense of to have (had / hadden)

Question	Answer
to focus oneself	zich focussen
the breathing	de ademhaling
I need time to focus on my breathing.	Ik heb tijd nodig om me op mijn ademhaling te focussen.
conscious	bewust
Try to concentrate consciously.	Probeer je bewust te concentreren.
the thought	de gedachte
to let go	loslaten
She sits down to focus and let go of every thought.	Zij gaat zitten om zich te focussen en elke gedachte los te laten.
I am too tired to concentrate tonight.	Ik ben te moe om me vanavond te concentreren.
to meditate	mediteren
the mind	de geest
We meditate to focus and empty the mind.	Wij mediteren om ons te focussen en de geest leeg te maken.
to breathe in	inademen
to breathe out	uitademen
I breathe in slowly and I breathe out calmly.	Ik adem langzaam in en ik adem rustig uit.
the attention	de aandacht
Keep your attention on the breathing to focus consciously.	Houd je aandacht bij de ademhaling om je bewust te focussen.
I ask if it helps to focus every day.	Ik vraag of het helpt om me elke dag te focussen.
the silence	de stilte
In the silence it is easy to concentrate and let go of a bad thought.	In de stilte is het makkelijk om je te concentreren en een slechte gedachte los te laten.
From ten to eleven I meditate to focus.	Van tien tot elf mediteer ik om me te focussen.
She uses the silence to concentrate.	Zij gebruikt de stilte om zich te concentreren.
Do you need time to concentrate consciously and breathe in?	Heb je tijd nodig om je bewust te concentreren en in te ademen?
You must breathe out slowly to concentrate better.	Je moet langzaam uitademen om je beter te concentreren.
He sits in the park to focus.	Hij zit in het park om zich te focussen.
The mind needs time to develop itself.	De geest heeft tijd nodig om zich te ontwikkelen.
The student uses his attention to focus.	De student gebruikt zijn aandacht om zich te focussen.
He meditates to focus.	Hij mediteert om zich te focussen.
The student seeks the silence to concentrate.	De student zoekt de stilte om zich te concentreren.
to pay attention to	aandacht besteden aan
We pay attention to the breathing.	Wij besteden aandacht aan de ademhaling.
He pays attention to every thought.	Hij besteedt aandacht aan elke gedachte.

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