Breakdown of Ik merk dat de studenten moe zijn.
ik
I
zijn
to be
de student
the student
moe
tired
dat
that (conjunction)
merken
to notice
Questions & Answers about Ik merk dat de studenten moe zijn.
Why is zijn at the very end of the sentence instead of right after studenten?
The word dat (that) acts as a bridge introducing a subordinate clause. In Dutch, these clauses use a special word order: they push the conjugated verb (here, zijn) to the very end of the clause.
In English, I can just say 'I notice the students are tired' without the word 'that'. Can I drop dat in Dutch too?
No, you cannot drop it in Dutch. When connecting a main clause (Ik merk) to a subordinate clause like this, you must always include the conjunction dat.
Why doesn't the adjective moe get an -e ending here, since de studenten is a plural noun?
Adjectives only get an -e ending when they come directly in front of the noun (like in the phrase de moeë studenten). Here, moe comes later in the sentence to describe the students, so it stays in its basic dictionary form.
What is the infinitive form of merk here, and does it have other meanings?
The infinitive is merken, which means 'to notice' or 'to realize'. You might also see merk used as a noun in other contexts, where it means a 'brand' or 'make' of a product.
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