Breakdown of De jongen slaapt niet, want hij is niet moe.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
de jongen
the boy
niet
not
moe
tired
slapen
to sleep
want
because
Questions & Answers about De jongen slaapt niet, want hij is niet moe.
Why is the word order after want just normal (Subject + Verb)?
Want is a coordinating conjunction, which is a grammar term meaning it just glues two normal, independent sentences together. Because of this, it doesn't change the word order at all. The second part stays exactly as Subject (hij) + Verb (is) + the rest of the sentence (niet moe).
Both want and omdat mean "because". Could I use omdat in this exact sentence instead?
You cannot swap them without changing the rest of the sentence. Both words mean "because", but want keeps the normal word order, just like in English. Omdat is a different type of connecting word that pushes the verb to the very end of the sentence (which you will learn about in a later lesson). When you want to keep the normal word order, always use want.
The English translation says "is not sleeping". Why is there no translation for "is" in the first part?
Unlike English, Dutch rarely uses an "is doing" form (the present continuous tense). Because of this, "The boy does not sleep" and "The boy is not sleeping" are both translated exactly the same way in Dutch: De jongen slaapt niet.
Why is niet placed after the verb in the first part, but before the adjective in the second part?
The word niet (not) usually comes after the main verb of the sentence, which is why it goes right after slaapt. However, when you use niet to specifically negate an adjective (a descriptive word like moe, meaning tired), you must put it directly before that adjective.
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