Doing Two Things at Once (terwijl)
In Dutch, when you want to talk about multitasking—like reading a recipe while chopping vegetables—you use the word terwijl (while).
Terwijl is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and changes the word order: the conjugated verb in the terwijl clause gets pushed all the way to the end of the sentence.
| I am reading the recipe while you are cutting the onion. | Ik lees het recept terwijl jij de ui snijdt. |
| I talk to them while I peel the apple. | Ik praat met ze terwijl ik de appel schil. |
Waiting Until (tot / totdat)
To say "until" a certain action is finished, you can use either tot or totdat. They mean the exact same thing and are used interchangeably.
Just like terwijl, these conjunctions trigger verb-final word order, sending the verb to the end of the dependent clause.
| We wait until the soup is ready. | Wij wachten totdat de soep klaar is. |
| We wait until the water boils. | We wachten tot het water kookt. |
Separable Verbs in Dependent Clauses
You already know that separable verbs split in a normal main clause. For example, with toevoegen (to add), the conjugated part stays in the second position, and the prefix (toe) moves to the end of the clause.
| He adds the salt while I stir. | Hij voegt het zout toe terwijl ik roer. |
But what happens when the separable verb is inside the dependent clause? Because words like terwijl and totdat push the conjugated verb to the end of the sentence, it reunites with its prefix. The verb is written together as a single word!
| You must stir while you add the milk. | Je moet roeren terwijl je de melk toevoegt. |
