Breakdown of We moeten roeren totdat de kaas smelt.
de kaas
the cheese
moeten
to have to, must
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
smelten
to melt
totdat
until (conjunction)
roeren
to stir
Questions & Answers about We moeten roeren totdat de kaas smelt.
Why does the verb smelt go at the very end of the sentence?
Because totdat (until) is a subordinating conjunction. This type of connecting word introduces a dependent clause (totdat de kaas smelt) and pushes the working verb to the very end of that clause.
Could I just say tot de kaas smelt instead of totdat?
Yes, you can! Both tot and totdat can be used as conjunctions to mean "until" before a subject and a verb. However, only tot can be used as a preposition before a noun, like in tot morgen (until tomorrow).
Why are the verbs moeten and roeren next to each other? Don't they usually split up?
In a main clause, the conjugated verb (moeten) takes the second position, and the infinitive (roeren) goes to the end. Because the main clause here (We moeten roeren) is so short and has no objects or extra details, the two verbs simply end up side by side.
De kaas is a "he/she/it" subject, so we add a -t to the verb stem. Why is it written as smelt and not smeltt?
The infinitive is smelten, so the stem is indeed smelt. While the rule is to add a -t for "he/she/it" subjects, Dutch spelling rules state that you never write a double -tt at the end of a word. Because of this, it stays smelt.
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