Breakdown of Je moet een kilo meel toevoegen.
een
a/an
moeten
to have to, must
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
het meel
the flour
toevoegen
to add
de kilo
the kilo
Questions & Answers about Je moet een kilo meel toevoegen.
Since this lesson is about quantitative er, why isn't it used in this sentence?
We only use the quantitative er to replace a noun that was already mentioned (like saying 'a kilo of it'). Because the noun meel (flour) is explicitly stated right next to the quantity here, you don't need er. If the sentence were just 'You must add a kilo,' it would be: Je moet er een kilo toevoegen.
Why is there no word for 'of' between een kilo and meel?
In Dutch, when you specify an amount or quantity of something, you put the quantity and the substance right next to each other. You drop the 'of' entirely. Just like een glas water (a glass of water), it is simply een kilo meel (a kilo of flour).
Why is toevoegen at the very end of the sentence?
This is due to the modal verb moet (must). When you use a modal verb, it takes the standard second position in the sentence, and the main action verb (toevoegen) gets pushed to the very end in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).
Isn't toevoegen a separable verb? Why is it written as one word here?
Yes, toevoegen (to add) is a separable verb made of toe + voegen. However, separable verbs only split when they act as the active, conjugated verb in the sentence (like: Ik voeg een kilo meel toe). Because moet is the conjugated verb in this sentence, toevoegen stays glued together at the end.
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