Questions & Answers about U kunt bij de apotheek niet pinnen.
What exactly does pinnen mean?
Pinnen is a very common Dutch verb that specifically means to pay with a debit card (by entering your PIN). If you want to ask if you can pay by card in a shop, you simply ask: Kan ik hier pinnen?
Why does niet come after bij de apotheek instead of right after kunt?
In Dutch, the negation word niet usually comes after a specific place or time. Since bij de apotheek (at the pharmacy) is a specific place, niet is pushed further back in the sentence, right before the infinitive verb pinnen at the end.
Could I say U kunt niet pinnen bij de apotheek instead?
Yes, you can, but it changes the emphasis. Placing bij de apotheek after all the verbs puts a heavy focus on the location itself, as if to say 'You cannot pay by card AT THE PHARMACY' (but maybe you can next door). The standard, neutral word order puts the place before the infinitive verb.
Why is the verb kunt used here instead of kan for the formal u?
For the formal pronoun u, both u kunt and u kan are actually correct and widely used. However, u kunt is traditionally considered slightly more formal and polite, which fits perfectly for a public notice or when speaking to a customer.