Breakdown of Het bestand is heel groot; je kunt het hiermee niet sturen.
zijn
to be
hier
here
niet
not
groot
big
met
with
heel
very
het
it
kunnen
can
sturen
to send
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
het bestand
the file
Questions & Answers about Het bestand is heel groot; je kunt het hiermee niet sturen.
Why does the sentence use hiermee instead of met dit?
In Dutch, you generally don't say met dit to mean "with this" when talking about objects or things. Instead, the pointing word dit changes into hier (here), and the preposition met (with) changes its form to mee. They merge into the single word hiermee.
Why is the verb sturen at the very end of the sentence?
The second clause uses the modal verb kunt (can). When you use a modal verb, the main verb of the sentence (in this case, sturen, meaning "to send") gets pushed to the very end of the clause in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).
In the second clause, why do we use het to say "it" instead of hem?
The word het refers back to het bestand (the file) from the first clause. Because bestand is a het-word (a neuter noun), you must use het as the pronoun. If you were referring back to a de-word, you would use hem instead.
Why does niet come after hiermee?
Word order with niet can be tricky! Generally, niet is placed towards the end of the sentence, but it must come before any other verbs at the end (like sturen). It also typically comes after specific direct objects (like het) and pronominal adverbs (like hiermee).
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