Breakdown of Drink je thee, of wil je koffie?
drinken
to drink
de koffie
the coffee
de thee
the tea
willen
to want
Questions & Answers about Drink je thee, of wil je koffie?
Does the word of change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, it doesn't! The word of (or) is a coordinating conjunction, just like en (and) and maar (but). It acts as a simple bridge between two sentences without changing the word order in either of them.
Why do we say wil je instead of je wilt after the comma?
Because the second half of the sentence is also a question. In Dutch questions, the verb and the subject swap places. So, the regular statement je wilt (you want) becomes the question wil je (do you want).
Why is it Drink je and not Drinkt je?
Normally, the 'you' form gets a -t ending. However, Dutch has a special rule: whenever jij or je comes directly after the verb, you drop that -t. Since this is a question, the verb comes first, giving us Drink je instead of Drinkt je.
Is the comma before of required?
It is not strictly required, but it is highly recommended here. If you are just linking two words like thee of koffie (tea or coffee), you skip the comma. When of links two complete sentences with their own verbs, using a comma is standard practice to make the sentence easier to read.