Breakdown of Mijn vader wandelt in het bos om te ontspannen.
in
in
wandelen
to walk (for pleasure)
mijn
my
de vader
the father
het bos
the forest
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
ontspannen
to relax
Questions & Answers about Mijn vader wandelt in het bos om te ontspannen.
How does the phrase om te ontspannen work to mean "to relax"?
To express why you are doing something (the purpose), Dutch uses the structure om + te + the infinitive of the verb. In English, we usually just say "to [verb]" or "in order to [verb]". Here, om acts like "in order", te means "to", and ontspannen is the infinitive "relax".
Does the om ... te part always go at the end of the sentence?
Yes, purpose clauses using om te + infinitive are generally placed at the end of the sentence. You state the complete main action first (Mijn vader wandelt in het bos), and then add the reason at the end (om te ontspannen).
Could I just say Mijn vader wandelt in het bos te ontspannen without om?
No, you need om here. In English, you can often drop "in order" and just say "to relax". But in Dutch, when you express a goal or purpose, you must use the full om ... te combination.
Ontspannen looks a bit like a past participle. Is it really the infinitive here?
Yes, it is! Ontspannen is the full infinitive verb for "to relax". It might remind you of past participles because verbs starting with the prefix ont- don't get a ge- added to them in the past tense. However, the verb used after te in this structure will always be the infinitive.
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