Breakdown of Je moet dat gevaarlijke gereedschap niet alleen gebruiken.
niet
not
dat
that (het-words)
moeten
to have to, must
gebruiken
to use
gevaarlijk
dangerous
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
alleen
alone; only
het gereedschap
the tools
Questions & Answers about Je moet dat gevaarlijke gereedschap niet alleen gebruiken.
Why use alleen here instead of zelf?
Alleen means alone or without anyone else present. Zelf means personally or by yourself, emphasizing that you do it instead of someone else. This sentence warns against using dangerous tools without supervision, so alleen is the right choice. Using zelf here would strangely imply that someone else should use the tools for you.
Why does it use dat gereedschap when the English translation says those tools?
In Dutch, gereedschap is a singular het-word acting as a collective noun, very much like the English word equipment. Because it is singular, you must use dat, even though it translates smoothly to the plural tools in English.
Since gereedschap is a het-word, why does gevaarlijk get an -e at the end?
An adjective before a het-word only drops the -e ending if the noun is indefinite, such as when it follows een or has no article. Because the specific word dat comes before the noun here, the adjective takes the standard -e ending to become gevaarlijke.
Why does niet alleen come near the end of the sentence instead of earlier?
In Dutch, the negative word niet generally goes after a specific direct object like dat gevaarlijke gereedschap. Also, niet is placed directly in front of the word it negates. Since it specifically negates alleen (you can use the tools, but not alone), the two words stay together right before the infinitive verb at the end.
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