Breakdown of Ik wil het project snel afmaken.
ik
I
snel
fast
willen
to want
het project
the project
afmaken
to finish
Questions & Answers about Ik wil het project snel afmaken.
Why is afmaken written as one word here? Isn't it a separable verb?
Yes, afmaken is a separable verb (af + maken). Normally it splits, as in Ik maak het af. But because there is a modal verb in this sentence (wil), the main verb goes to the very end of the sentence in its full dictionary form. When this happens, separable verbs do not split and stay glued together as one word.
Does wil mean 'will' in English, like 'I will finish it'?
No, wil is a false friend! It comes from the verb willen, which means 'to want'. If you wanted to say 'I will finish the project quickly' using the future tense, you would use the verb zullen, resulting in Ik zal het project snel afmaken.
Why does snel come right before afmaken?
In Dutch, the second verb (here, afmaken) moves to the very end of the sentence. Adverbs describing how an action is done, like snel (quickly), usually sit just before this final verb.
Can I say Ik wil afmaken het project snel?
No, that uses English word order. In Dutch, a modal verb like wil always pushes the main action verb (afmaken) to the absolute end of the sentence. All the other details, like the object (het project) and the adverb (snel), must be sandwiched in the middle.
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