Breakdown of Wij zullen de zieke man steunen.
de man
the man
wij
we
zullen
shall / will
ziek
sick
steunen
to support
Questions & Answers about Wij zullen de zieke man steunen.
Why is steunen at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you use an auxiliary (helper) verb like zullen (will), the main verb is pushed to the very end of the sentence. It also stays in its full dictionary form (the infinitive), which is steunen.
Why does the adjective have an extra 'e' (zieke instead of ziek)?
You generally add an -e to adjectives when they come directly before a noun that has a definite article (de or het). Because it is de man, the adjective ziek gets an -e and becomes zieke.
Could I use gaan instead of zullen here to talk about the future?
Yes! You can often use gaan (to go) for the future tense, especially for concrete plans (Wij gaan de zieke man steunen). However, zullen is used here because it often expresses a promise, offer, or strong intention, which fits the meaning perfectly.
Is there a difference between using Wij and We at the start of this sentence?
Yes, though both mean "we". Wij is the emphasized form, used when you want to stress that we will support him (perhaps as opposed to someone else doing it). If you don't need that extra emphasis, you can just use the unstressed form and say We zullen...
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