Breakdown of Het is belangrijk om goed gedrag te belonen.
zijn
to be
het
it
belangrijk
important
goed
good
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
het gedrag
the behavior
belonen
to reward
Questions & Answers about Het is belangrijk om goed gedrag te belonen.
Why doesn't this sentence use er plus a preposition before the om... te clause like other sentences in this lesson?
The lesson focuses on verbs or adjectives that naturally require a preposition, like houden van (to love). The adjective belangrijk (important) doesn't take a preposition in Dutch. Just like in English, you simply say 'It is important to...' (Het is belangrijk om...). Because there is no preposition to anticipate, you use het as a placeholder instead of an er-combination.
Why do we need the word om here?
In Dutch, the om ... te structure is used to link an infinitive verb (like belonen) to a main clause, especially when expressing a purpose or making a general statement. While te sits right before the verb at the end, om acts as a bridge at the start of that part of the sentence.
Why is it goed gedrag and not goede gedrag?
Gedrag is a het-word (neuter noun). When a het-word is used without a specific article like het, dit, or dat before it, the adjective drops the -e ending. If the sentence said 'the good behavior', it would be het goede gedrag.
Why is belonen at the very end of the sentence?
In an om ... te clause, the infinitive verb always goes at the very end. This means any objects or extra details must come between om and te. Here, the object goed gedrag steps into the middle, pushing te belonen to the end.
Learn Het is belangrijk om goed gedrag te belonen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free