Breakdown of Ze wil graag dat lied zingen.
zij
she
willen
to want
dat
that (het-words)
zingen
to sing
graag
gladly
het lied
the song
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
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?
Because lied (song) is a het word (het lied). When you want to say 'that' with a het word, you must use dat. If it were a de word, you would use die.
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