Je moet minstens anderhalf glas melk toevoegen.
You must add at least one and a half glasses of milk.
Breakdown of Je moet minstens anderhalf glas melk toevoegen.
de melk
the milk
moeten
to have to, must
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
toevoegen
to add
het glas
the glass
anderhalf
one and a half
minstens
at least
Questions & Answers about Je moet minstens anderhalf glas melk toevoegen.
How do you express "one and a half" in Dutch, and why is glas singular here?
In Dutch, "one and a half" is expressed with the single word anderhalf. Unlike in English, where you say "glasses" in the plural, anderhalf is always followed by a singular noun in Dutch. Therefore, it is anderhalf glas, never "anderhalf glazen".
Would I ever use anderhalve instead of anderhalf?
Yes, it depends on the gender of the noun. Because glas is a het-word (het glas), we use anderhalf. If you use a de-word, such as fles (bottle), you must add an -e and say anderhalve fles.
Why is there no word for "of" in glas melk?
When talking about volumes, containers, or measurements, Dutch drops the word for "of" completely. You just put the container right next to the substance it holds. This gives us glas melk (glass of milk), kopje koffie (cup of coffee), or kilo appels (kilo of apples).
Toevoegen is a separable verb, so why is it written as one connected word at the end of the sentence?
You're right that toevoegen (to add) is separable (toe + voegen). However, this sentence uses the modal verb moet (must) in the second position. A modal verb always pushes the main verb to the very end of the sentence in its full infinitive form, which keeps the prefix firmly attached to the verb.
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