Breakdown of Ik drink water om fit te blijven.
ik
I
drinken
to drink
het water
the water
blijven
to stay
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
fit
fit
Questions & Answers about Ik drink water om fit te blijven.
Why do we need the word om here? Can't I just say fit te blijven?
In English, you can say 'to stay fit' or 'in order to stay fit' to mean the same thing. In Dutch, when you express a purpose or a goal, you must use the full om ... te structure. You need om to show that staying fit is the reason you drink water.
What is the word order in an om ... te phrase?
The word om always starts the purpose phrase, and te plus the full verb (blijven) must go at the very end. Any other information, like the adjective fit, gets sandwiched right in the middle.
Why is the verb blijven used here instead of a conjugated form like blijf?
The om ... te structure always requires an infinitive (the full, unchanged dictionary form of the verb). Because it follows te, the verb blijven (to stay) cannot be conjugated to match a subject.
Is the word fit an English loanword?
Yes! Dutch borrows fit directly from English. It is used the exact same way to describe being healthy, energetic, or in good physical shape.
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