Breakdown of Het is te laat om de toegang zonder pas te regelen.
zijn
to be
laat
late
het
it
regelen
to arrange
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
zonder
without
de toegang
the access
de pas
the pass
Questions & Answers about Het is te laat om de toegang zonder pas te regelen.
How does the om ... te structure work in this sentence?
The phrase om ... te translates to "to" or "in order to". In Dutch, om starts the phrase, but the te and the infinitive verb (regelen) must go at the very end. Everything else, like de toegang zonder pas (the access without a pass), gets sandwiched in the middle.
Why is there no article before pas? In English we say "without a pass".
After the preposition zonder (without), Dutch typically drops the indefinite article (een) when talking about a general object. You will often see this with exception prepositions; you just say zonder pas instead of zonder een pas.
Is zonder related to the exception preposition behalve from this lesson?
Yes, both act as prepositions of exclusion. While behalve means "except" or "besides", zonder means "without". Both are placed right before the noun they exclude, without needing extra linking words.
Can regelen be used for things other than "arranging access"?
Absolutely. Regelen is a very common and versatile Dutch verb. While it translates to "arrange" or "organize" here, native speakers use it for almost any situation where you need to "sort something out" or "take care of" a practical issue.
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