Breakdown of Als mijn vrienden mij aanmoedigen, zal ik het volhouden.
ik
I
de vriend
the friend
mijn
my
het
it
zullen
shall / will
mij
me
als
if / when (condition)
aanmoedigen
to encourage
volhouden
to persevere
Questions & Answers about Als mijn vrienden mij aanmoedigen, zal ik het volhouden.
Why is it zal ik instead of ik zal in the second half of the sentence?
The sentence begins with a subclause (Als mijn vrienden mij aanmoedigen). In Dutch, this entire subclause counts as the first "block" of information. To keep the conjugated verb of the main clause in the second position (the V2 rule), the main clause must immediately start with the verb. That causes the inversion to zal ik.
Aanmoedigen is a separable verb. Why isn't it split up as moedigen ... aan?
You only split a separable verb when it is the conjugated verb in a main clause. Here, it is inside an Als (if) subclause, which forces all verbs to the end of the clause. When a separable verb is pushed to the end of a subclause, its parts stay glued together as a single word.
Is volhouden also a separable verb? Why is it one word here?
Yes, volhouden (vol + houden) is a separable verb meaning to persevere or keep something up. It is written as one word here because the helping verb zal (will) pushes the main verb to the end of the sentence as an infinitive. Separable verbs are always written as a single word when they appear in their full infinitive form.
Why do we need the word het before volhouden?
Dutch commonly pairs het (it) with volhouden as a placeholder for whatever specific task, goal, or effort you are continuing. It works exactly like the English expression "to keep it up".
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