Breakdown of De vrijwilligers werken samen met de arts.
de arts
the doctor
samen
together
werken
to work
met
with
Questions & Answers about De vrijwilligers werken samen met de arts.
Since the lesson is about turning adjectives into people (like de zieke), why isn't 'the volunteers' translated as de vrijwilligen?
The adjective is vrijwillig (voluntary). If we followed the standard rule, a volunteer would be de vrijwillige and the plural would be de vrijwilligen. However, Dutch treats a volunteer more like a role or profession, adding -er to make the noun vrijwilliger. Since it is a standard noun ending in -er, its plural takes an -s: vrijwilligers.
Why are werken and samen separated in this sentence?
They come from the separable verb samenwerken (to work together). In a standard main clause, the conjugated verb (werken) stays in the second position, and the separable prefix (samen) gets pushed further back in the sentence.
Can I put the separable prefix samen at the very end of the sentence instead?
Yes, De vrijwilligers werken met de arts samen is also grammatically correct. Separable prefixes often go to the very end of the sentence, but it is very common and natural to place them right before a prepositional phrase like met de arts.
When should I use arts instead of dokter?