Breakdown of Zij voegt de peper toe terwijl het vlees bakt.
zij
she
het vlees
the meat
bakken
to fry / to bake
terwijl
while
toevoegen
to add
de peper
the pepper
Questions & Answers about Zij voegt de peper toe terwijl het vlees bakt.
Why does the verb bakt come at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the word terwijl (while). It is a subordinating conjunction, which means it starts a dependent clause and pushes its verb (bakt) all the way to the end of that clause.
Why is the word toe placed right before terwijl?
The main verb here is toevoegen (to add). It is a separable verb. In a main clause, the core verb (voegt) goes in the second position, and the prefix (toe) is pushed to the end of that main clause, right before the new terwijl clause starts.
Can bakt mean both 'bakes' and 'fries'?
Yes! The Dutch verb bakken is used for baking in an oven (like bread or cake) but also for frying in a pan on the stove (like meat or an egg). Here, because we are talking about vlees (meat), it means frying or pan-cooking.
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