Breakdown of Zodra ik thuis ben, ruim ik de keuken snel op.
ik
I
zijn
to be
thuis
at home
snel
fast
de keuken
the kitchen
opruimen
to tidy up
zodra
as soon as
Questions & Answers about Zodra ik thuis ben, ruim ik de keuken snel op.
Why does de keuken come before the adverb snel?
This is because de keuken is a definite direct object (it uses the definite article de). In Dutch, definite direct objects usually come before adverbs like snel (quickly). If you were talking about an indefinite object, like a room in general, it would come after the adverb (e.g., ...ruim ik snel een kamer op).
Why is the word order ruim ik instead of ik ruim in the second half?
The entire first clause (Zodra ik thuis ben) acts as the first block of information. Since the conjugated verb must take the second position in a main clause, ruim comes immediately after the comma, pushing the subject ik to the third position. This is called inversion.
Why is ben at the end of the first clause?
The word Zodra (as soon as) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a subclause, which means the conjugated verb (ben) gets pushed to the very end of that clause.
What is op doing at the very end of the sentence?
It belongs to the verb opruimen (to tidy up). Because opruimen is a separable verb used here in a main clause, the conjugated part (ruim) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (op) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
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