Breakdown of Waar is de weegschaal om de boter te wegen?
zijn
to be
waar
where
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de boter
the butter
wegen
to weigh
de weegschaal
the scale
Questions & Answers about Waar is de weegschaal om de boter te wegen?
Why do we need the word om in this sentence?
It forms the om ... te construction, which means "in order to". Whenever you want to say "a scale (in order) to weigh the butter", you start the phrase with om and put te plus the infinitive verb (wegen) at the end.
Why doesn't the sentence just say om te wegen de boter?
In an om ... te phrase, the word order is strict. The word om acts as the anchor at the start, any objects or extra details (like de boter) go in the middle, and te + the infinitive verb (wegen) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence.
Is there a connection between the words weegschaal and wegen?
Yes! Wegen is the verb meaning "to weigh". A weegschaal combines the stem of this verb with schaal (bowl or dish), literally meaning a "weigh-bowl" — the Dutch word for a scale.
Learn Waar is de weegschaal om de boter te wegen 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