Breakdown of Hij gaat minder werken en meer slapen.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
en
and
werken
to work
slapen
to sleep
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
meer
more
minder
less / fewer
Questions & Answers about Hij gaat minder werken en meer slapen.
Where do the words minder and meer come from?
They are irregular comparatives! Minder (less) is the comparative form of weinig (little/few). Meer (more) is the comparative form of veel (much/many).
Does minder mean "less" or "fewer"?
It means both! Unlike English, which has different words depending on whether you can count the item (less sleep vs. fewer hours), Dutch simply uses minder for everything. The same applies to meer, which covers "more" for both countable and uncountable things.
Why do the verbs werken and slapen come after minder and meer?
This is due to the helping verb gaat (is going to). When you use a form of gaan to talk about the future, the main action verbs (werken and slapen) get pushed to the very end of their respective phrases.
Do I need to repeat hij gaat for the second half of the sentence?
No, you don't have to. The word en (and) links the two actions. Just like in English, you can simply say "He is going to work less and sleep more" instead of repeating "and he is going to sleep more."
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