Breakdown of Hij komt steeds te laat.
laat
late
komen
to come
te
too
steeds
again and again, constantly / still
Questions & Answers about Hij komt steeds te laat.
The translation says keeps arriving, but where is the Dutch verb for keeps?
There is no verb for that here! In Dutch, we often use the adverb steeds (which means constantly or time and again) with a normal verb to express that someone keeps doing something. So komt steeds translates smoothly to keeps arriving.
Why does steeds go right after the verb komt?
steeds is acting as an adverb of frequency here. In a standard main clause like this one, adverbs that tell us how often something happens usually go immediately after the conjugated verb.
Could I use altijd instead of steeds here?
Yes! Hij komt altijd te laat means he always arrives late. Using steeds instead gives it a slightly different feeling, emphasizing the annoying repetition, similar to saying he comes late time and again.
Why use komt instead of the verb for is?
In English you usually say someone is late, but in Dutch it is standard to use komen (to come) when talking about arriving late. The fixed phrase is te laat komen.