Question 1

Why does the sentence use voor (for) when the English translation says take care of?

Accepted Answer

This is a fixed preposition! In Dutch, the verb zorgen (to care/take care) is always paired with voor to mean to take care of or to look after. Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word between English and Dutch, so it's best to memorize them as a pair: zorgen voor.

Question 2

Why is the verb zorgen conjugated with a -t here? Doesn't the -t usually disappear in questions?

Accepted Answer

The -t only drops when the subject is jij or je (the informal you) and comes after the verb, like in Zorg je voor de kat?. Because this sentence uses the formal u, it keeps the -t just like a regular statement: Zorgt u.

Question 3

How does the word order work in this yes/no question? Where did the Do go?

Accepted Answer

Dutch doesn't use helper verbs like do to make questions. Instead, it simply swaps the subject and the main verb (this is called inversion). So You take care (U zorgt) becomes Take care you? (Zorgt u?).

Question 4

Why is altijd placed right after u instead of at the end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Dutch, adverbs of time like altijd (always) usually go right after the conjugated verb and the subject. They also typically come before prepositional phrases like voor de kat. So the structure is: Verb (Zorgt) + Subject (u) + Time (altijd) + Prepositional Object (voor de kat).

Zorgt u altijd voor de kat?

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