Breakdown of Zij sport regelmatig om gezond en fit te blijven.
zij
she
en
and
blijven
to stay
sporten
to exercise / to play sports
Questions & Answers about Zij sport regelmatig om gezond en fit te blijven.
The word sport looks like a noun. Is it being used as a verb here?
Yes! In Dutch, sporten is a common verb meaning "to exercise" or "to play sports." Because the subject is zij (she), we take the stem (sport) and would normally add a -t. Since the stem already ends in a 't', the form just stays sport.
How exactly does the om ... te structure work in this sentence?
The combination om ... te is used to say "in order to" or "to" when expressing a goal or purpose. The word om starts the phrase, the whole infinitive verb (blijven) goes at the very end with te right in front of it, and the extra details (gezond en fit) are sandwiched in between.
Can I drop the word om like we often drop "in order" in English?
No, you need to keep it! While English speakers usually just say "to stay healthy", in Dutch, when you are explaining the purpose behind an action, you almost always need the full om ... te structure. Leaving out om here would make the sentence grammatically incorrect.
Is regelmatig (regularly) related to the Dutch word for "rule"?
Exactly. It is built from the word regel (rule) and the ending -matig (measured or moderate). Together, regelmatig means doing something according to a rule or pattern, which gives us "regularly."