Breakdown of Je moet letten op het gedrag van het kind.
het kind
the child
moeten
to have to, must
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
het gedrag
the behavior
letten op
to pay attention to
Questions & Answers about Je moet letten op het gedrag van het kind.
This lesson is about using er + preposition. Why is there no erop in this sentence?
Because the object here is a regular noun phrase (het gedrag van het kind). You use an anticipatory word like erop when you are pointing forward to a full action or clause. For example, if you wanted to use a dat-clause, you would say: Je moet erop letten dat het kind goed slaapt (You must pay attention to the fact that the child sleeps well).
If I want to replace 'the behavior of the child' with 'it', how would I say 'You must pay attention to it'?
You would use erop! In Dutch, you cannot say op het when referring to an inanimate object or concept. Instead, you use er + preposition. The sentence would simply become: Je moet erop letten.
Is letten op a fixed expression?
Yes, the verb letten (to pay attention / to watch out) is almost always paired with the preposition op. While in English you pay attention to something, in Dutch you pay attention on (op) it.
Why is the infinitive verb letten in the middle of the sentence instead of at the end?
Standard Dutch word order usually pushes the infinitive verb to the very end, so Je moet op het gedrag van het kind letten is completely correct and very common. However, phrases starting with a preposition (like op het gedrag...) are a special exception: they are allowed to 'leak' past the final verb to the end of the sentence. Both options are perfectly fine!
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