Breakdown of Ze verbieden ons om in de rivier te zwemmen.
in
in
zwemmen
to swim
ons
us (object)
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Ze verbieden ons om in de rivier te zwemmen.
Why do we use om ... te in this sentence?
In Dutch, when you report a command, request, or prohibition (like using verbieden, to forbid), you often use an om ... te clause. The om signals the start of the instruction, and the te goes right before the infinitive verb (zwemmen) at the end.
Is the word om strictly necessary here?
Actually, no! You could just say Ze verbieden ons in de rivier te zwemmen. However, adding om is very natural and common when reporting commands or requests, as it helps break the sentence into clear, readable chunks.
Why does in de rivier go between om and te?
In an om ... te construction, all the extra details of the action (like the location in de rivier) must be sandwiched between om and the te + infinitive combination. The te and the infinitive verb always get pushed together to the very end of the sentence.
Why is it verbieden ons instead of verbieden aan ons?
Verbieden (to forbid) works a lot like it does in English. You can attach the pronoun directly to the verb without a preposition. Ons (us) acts as the indirect object here, meaning we are the ones receiving the prohibition.