Breakdown of Hij is moe in de ochtend, maar hij werkt veel.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
maar
but
moe
tired
Questions & Answers about Hij is moe in de ochtend, maar hij werkt veel.
How do we get the verb form werkt here?
The full verb (infinitive) is werken (to work). To find the stem, we remove the -en ending, which leaves us with werk. Because the subject is hij (he), the rule is to add a -t to the stem, giving us werkt.
Does the word maar (but) change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, it doesn't. Maar is a linking word that simply connects two sentences without mixing up their word order. The second part, hij werkt veel, keeps the normal Subject-Verb order just like it would on its own.
Could I say 's ochtends instead of in de ochtend?
Yes! Both in de ochtend and 's ochtends mean 'in the morning' and they are completely interchangeable. In de ochtend is just the more literal way to say it, while 's ochtends is very common in everyday speech.
Why does veel translate to 'a lot' here instead of 'many'?
In Dutch, veel is a very handy word because it covers both 'much / a lot' (for actions or uncountable things) and 'many' (for countable things). Here it describes how much he works, so 'a lot' is the most natural English translation.