Breakdown of In de stilte is het makkelijk om je te concentreren en een slechte gedachte los te laten.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
en
and
in
in
het
it
slecht
bad
makkelijk
easy
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
zich concentreren
to concentrate
de gedachte
the thought
loslaten
to let go
de stilte
the silence
Questions & Answers about In de stilte is het makkelijk om je te concentreren en een slechte gedachte los te laten.
Why is the reflexive pronoun je used here instead of zich?
The verb zich concentreren (to concentrate) is reflexive. Because this sentence makes a general statement about what is easy for anyone to do, it implies the generic pronoun je (meaning "you" in the sense of "one"). Therefore, the reflexive pronoun matches it: je (yourself). If the sentence were about a specific person, like "hij", it would use zich: om zich te concentreren.
Where exactly does the reflexive pronoun go in an om ... te clause?
The reflexive pronoun (je) usually jumps to the front of the clause, right after the word om. The standard structure is: om + [reflexive pronoun] + [other details, if any] + te + [infinitive verb].
Why is it written as los te laten instead of te loslaten?
Loslaten (to let go) is a separable verb, made of the prefix los and the verb laten. Whenever a separable verb is used in a te + infinitive construction, the word te sneaks right between the prefix and the main verb, splitting them into three separate words: los te laten.
Why isn't there another om before een slechte gedachte?
Because the two actions (concentreren and loslaten) are connected by the word en (and), they share the same om from the beginning of the clause. You don't need to repeat it! The underlying structure is om je te concentreren en [om] een slechte gedachte los te laten.
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