Breakdown of De broek is te wijd om te dragen.
zijn
to be
de broek
the pants / the trousers
dragen
to wear
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
wijd
wide / loose (clothing)
Questions & Answers about De broek is te wijd om te dragen.
Why is broek singular when the English translation says "trousers"?
In Dutch, an item of clothing for the legs is seen as a single object, so broek is singular. It takes the singular verb is. English treats words like "trousers" or "pants" as plural, but Dutch does not.
Why do we use om te instead of just te dragen?
The combination te [adjective] om te [infinitive] is the standard Dutch pattern for saying something is "too [adjective] to [do something]". Here, om te connects the description (te wijd) to the action (dragen).
Does wijd just mean "wide"?
It literally means "wide", but when talking about clothing, wijd is the standard word for "loose" or "baggy". The opposite would be strak (tight).
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