Breakdown of Je mag uitrusten, zodat je spieren kunnen groeien.
mogen
to be allowed to / may
kunnen
can
groeien
to grow
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
uitrusten
to rest
je
your (unstressed)
zodat
so that
de spier
the muscle
Questions & Answers about Je mag uitrusten, zodat je spieren kunnen groeien.
Why are the verbs kunnen and groeien pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The word zodat (so that) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it connects a dependent clause to the main sentence, and its special rule is that it kicks all the verbs in its clause to the very end.
Could I change the order at the end and say groeien kunnen instead of kunnen groeien?
When you have a helping verb like kunnen (can) and an infinitive like groeien (grow) stacked at the end of a zodat clause, the helping verb usually comes first in Dutch. You might occasionally hear native speakers swap them, but kunnen groeien is the standard and most natural order to learn.
Why is je used twice? Does it mean 'you' both times?
They actually have two different meanings here! The first je in Je mag is the subject pronoun meaning 'you'. The second je in je spieren is the unstressed possessive pronoun meaning 'your' (which is the short form of jouw).
I thought uitrusten (to rest) was a separable verb. Why isn't it split up here?
You are exactly right, uitrusten is a separable verb (uit + rusten). However, because it is used with the modal verb mag (may), the full infinitive uitrusten is pushed to the end of its clause and stays glued together as a single word. It would only split if it were the main conjugated verb, like in the sentence Je rust uit (You rest).
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