Breakdown of Ik moet hen straks de e-mail sturen.
ik
I
straks
later / soon
moeten
to have to, must
sturen
to send
de e-mail
the email
hen
them (object)
Questions & Answers about Ik moet hen straks de e-mail sturen.
Can I use ze instead of hen in this sentence?
Yes! Both hen and ze mean "them" when used as an object pronoun. hen is the stressed form, which you use if you really want to emphasize that you are sending the email to them specifically. In everyday speech, the unstressed ze is much more common: Ik moet ze straks de e-mail sturen.
Why is the verb sturen all the way at the end?
This happens because of the modal verb moet (have to / must). When a Dutch sentence has two verbs, the conjugated helping verb takes the second position (Ik moet) and pushes the main action verb (sturen) to the very end of the sentence.
Why does straks come before de e-mail?
In Dutch, words that tell you when something happens (like straks, meaning later or soon) usually come before the specific object of the sentence (like de e-mail). Time words like to be placed as early in the sentence as possible, usually right after the first verb and any short pronouns.
Does straks translate to "later" or "soon"?
It can mean both! straks is used to talk about the near future, usually later on the exact same day. Depending on the context, you can translate it as "later," "soon," or "in a bit.".
Learn Ik moet hen straks de e-mail sturen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free