Word
Ze wil graag dat lied zingen.
Meaning
She would like to sing that song.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Ze wil graag dat lied zingen.
Why is it wil and not wilt for 'she'?
With regular verbs, we add a -t for 'he', 'she', or 'it'. But willen (to want) is an irregular modal verb. For ik, hij, zij/ze, and het, the correct form is just wil without the extra -t.
Why is graag in this sentence? Doesn't ze wil already mean 'she wants'?
Yes, ze wil means 'she wants', but adding graag (which literally means 'gladly') softens the tone. Together, wil graag translates to 'would like to'. It is the standard, polite way to express a preference or desire in Dutch.
Why is the verb zingen at the very end of the sentence?
This is the standard word order when using a modal verb. The modal verb (wil) takes the normal second position in the sentence. The main action verb (zingen) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in its full dictionary form.
Why do we say dat lied instead of die lied?