Question 1

Why is aansluit at the very end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The word voordat (before) introduces a dependent clause (also called a subclause). In Dutch, dependent clauses use verb-final word order. This means the conjugated verb is pushed all the way to the end of that part of the sentence.

Question 2

Both aanzetten and aansluiten are separable verbs. Why is only one of them split up?

Accepted Answer

That is because they are in different types of clauses! The first part is a main clause question, so the separable verb splits: the verb (zet) comes early, and the prefix (aan) goes to the end of that clause. The second part is a subclause. Because subclauses push the verb to the end, the prefix and the verb meet at the end of the sentence and snap back together into one word: aansluit.

Question 3

Can I just use voor instead of voordat here?

Accepted Answer

No, because you are introducing a whole new clause with a subject (u) and a verb (aansluit). When 'before' connects two clauses like this, you must use the conjunction voordat. You only use voor when it is a preposition directly before a noun, like in voor het ontbijt (before breakfast).

Question 4

Why does the sentence start with Zet u instead of U zet?

Accepted Answer

This is a yes/no question. In Dutch, you form a yes/no question by swapping the subject and the verb. This is called inversion. So the normal statement U zet de computer aan (You turn the computer on) becomes the question Zet u de computer aan? (Do you turn the computer on?).

Zet u de computer aan voordat u de kabel aansluit?

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