Breakdown of Ze zullen nu wel inbreken.
nu
now
zullen
shall / will
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
wel
indeed, surely (contrastive particle)
inbreken
to break in
Questions & Answers about Ze zullen nu wel inbreken.
Why is zullen used here if the sentence is happening "now" (nu) instead of in the future?
What exactly does the word wel add to this sentence?
wel is a modal particle that adds flavor to the sentence. Paired with zullen, it emphasizes that you are making an assumption. Together, zullen ... wel is a common pattern meaning "probably" or "I suppose". Without wel, Ze zullen nu inbreken sounds like a direct command or a weirdly certain prediction ("They will break in now").
I learned that inbreken (to break in) is a separable verb. Why isn't it split apart here?
Because zullen is the conjugated verb in this sentence, the main verb (inbreken) is pushed to the very end of the clause. When a separable verb is pushed to the end like this, it stays glued together in its full infinitive form. It would only split if it were the conjugated verb, like in Ze breken nu in (They are breaking in now).
The English translation says "are breaking in". Why isn't there a verb for "are" in the Dutch sentence?
Dutch rarely uses a direct equivalent to the English continuous tense ("are doing"). The English continuous form "are breaking in" is naturally captured here by the infinitive inbreken combined with the assumption pattern. Dutch relies on the context of nu (now) to show the action is currently in progress.
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