Learn Dutch: Je moet veel drinken, want je hebt dorst. - You must drink a lot, because you are thirsty.

Je moet veel drinken, want je hebt dorst.

You must drink a lot, because you are thirsty.

Breakdown of Je moet veel drinken, want je hebt dorst.

hebben

to have

veel

much / many / a lot of

Questions & Answers about Je moet veel drinken, want je hebt dorst.

Does using want change the word order in the second half of the sentence?

No, it doesn't! Want simply links two normal sentences together. After want, you just use the standard word order: the subject (je) followed immediately by the verb (hebt).

Why does the translation say 'are thirsty' when the Dutch says hebt dorst?

In Dutch, you don't 'be' thirsty; you 'have' thirst (dorst). This is why we use the verb hebben (to have) instead of zijn (to be). The exact same rule applies to being hungry: ik heb honger (I am hungry).

Why is drinken at the very end of the first part of the sentence?

This happens because of the verb moet (must). When you use a helping verb like moeten, it takes the standard second position in the sentence, and the main action verb (drinken) gets pushed to the very end of that section.

Both want and omdat mean 'because'. Could I use omdat here?

Yes, but it would change the word order. While want lets you keep the normal word order (want je hebt dorst), using omdat forces the verb to the very end of its clause (omdat je dorst hebt). Because it is easier, want is great for beginners!