Breakdown of Vanavond maakt ze het huis schoon.
zij
she
het huis
the house
vanavond
tonight
schoonmaken
to clean
Questions & Answers about Vanavond maakt ze het huis schoon.
Why is the word schoon at the very end of the sentence?
Because the full verb is schoonmaken (to clean), which is a separable verb. In a main clause in the present tense, the verb splits. The conjugated core verb (maakt) goes into the second position, and the prefix (schoon) gets kicked all the way to the end of the sentence.
Why is the word order maakt ze instead of ze maakt?
Because the sentence starts with the time word Vanavond (tonight). In Dutch, the conjugated verb must always be in the second position. When you start a sentence with something other than the subject, the subject and verb must swap places so the verb stays in position two.
What does the prefix schoon actually mean on its own?
Schoon is the Dutch adjective for "clean", and maken means "to make". So the verb schoonmaken literally translates to "to make clean". This sentence literally reads: "Tonight makes she the house clean."
Can I use zij instead of ze here?
Yes, you could. Both words mean "she", but ze is the unstressed version. You use ze for everyday statements like this, and only use zij if you want to emphasize that she is the one cleaning, rather than someone else.