Breakdown of Concentreert hij zich op de tekst?
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
op
on
de tekst
the text
zich concentreren
to concentrate
Questions & Answers about Concentreert hij zich op de tekst?
Why is the word zich in this sentence?
In Dutch, the verb for to concentrate is zich concentreren, which is a reflexive verb. That means it always needs an extra pronoun that reflects back to the subject. Because the subject is hij (he), the matching reflexive pronoun is zich. You can think of it literally as 'Does he concentrate himself on the text?'.
What is the word order here? Why doesn't zich come right after the verb?
This is a yes/no question, so the verb (Concentreert) comes first. In Dutch questions, the subject (hij) must immediately follow the verb. The reflexive pronoun (zich) then takes its place right after the subject.
How would this sentence change if the subject was 'I' instead of 'he'?
You would need to change both the verb form and the reflexive pronoun. It would become: Concentreer ik me op de tekst? (Am I concentrating on the text?). The reflexive pronoun that goes with ik is me.
Why is the preposition op used here?
Just like in English where you 'concentrate on' something, the Dutch verb zich concentreren is a fixed combination with the preposition op. You will always use op to introduce the thing you are focusing on.