Breakdown of Zij voelt zich beter sinds we in dit huis wonen.
zij
she
het huis
the house
in
in
wonen
to live
Questions & Answers about Zij voelt zich beter sinds we in dit huis wonen.
How does sinds affect the word order in the second part of the sentence?
sinds (since) is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a dependent clause. In Dutch, this type of word pushes the conjugated verb (wonen) to the very end of its clause. That is why it is sinds we in dit huis wonen instead of keeping the verb right after the subject.
Why does the Dutch sentence use the present tense wonen when English often says "since we have lived"?
In Dutch, if an action started in the past and is still continuing right now, you usually use the present tense. Since they moved into the house in the past but still live there today, Dutch uses the present tense wonen.
Why is the word zich used here?
The Dutch verb for "to feel" (in the sense of feeling a certain way physically or emotionally) is zich voelen. It is a reflexive verb, meaning it always needs an extra pronoun that reflects back to the subject. For the subject zij (she), the correct pronoun is zich.
Why is it dit huis and not deze huis?
Because huis is a het-word (het huis). When saying "this" in front of a singular het-word, you must use dit. You only use deze for de-words or plurals.