Breakdown of Wij blijven de bloemen goed verzorgen.
wij
we
de bloem
the flower
blijven
to stay
goed
good
verzorgen
to care for
Questions & Answers about Wij blijven de bloemen goed verzorgen.
How does blijven work here to mean "keep taking care"?
The verb blijven literally means "to stay" or "to remain". However, when you use it with an infinitive verb at the end of the sentence, like verzorgen, it changes meaning to "keep doing" or "continue doing" that action.
Why is verzorgen at the very end of the sentence?
This is the standard Dutch word order for sentences with two verbs. The first verb (blijven) is conjugated and takes the second position, while the second verb (verzorgen) stays in its full infinitive form and is pushed to the very end. The object and adverbs are sandwiched between them.
Why is there no word for "of" in the Dutch sentence, even though the English says "care of"?
The verb verzorgen already means "to take care of" or "to look after" all on its own. You don't need an extra preposition. If you wanted to use the similar verb zorgen (to care), you would need to add voor to make zorgen voor de bloemen.
Why is goed placed right before verzorgen?
Here, goed acts as an adverb describing how we take care of the flowers. In Dutch, adverbs describing the action are typically placed as close to the main action verb as possible, which puts it right before the infinitive verzorgen at the end of the clause.
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