Breakdown of Hij is boos omdat ze hem het gif hebben laten drinken.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
drinken
to drink
boos
angry
het
it
hem
him
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
laten
to let (laten we ... = let's ...)
omdat
because (subordinating)
het gif
the poison
Questions & Answers about Hij is boos omdat ze hem het gif hebben laten drinken.
Why does hebben come before laten drinken at the end of the sentence?
In a subordinate clause (introduced here by omdat), all verbs get pushed to the end. While you normally have some flexibility with the order of a conjugated verb and a single past participle, the rule is strict for double infinitives: the conjugated auxiliary verb (hebben) must come before the group of infinitives (laten drinken). You cannot put hebben at the very end.
Why is it laten instead of the past participle gelaten?
This is the "double infinitive" rule in action. In perfect tenses, if a verb that would normally be a past participle (like gelaten) is accompanied by another verb in the infinitive (like drinken), it turns back into an infinitive itself. This creates a cluster of infinitives at the end of the sentence rather than mixing a participle with an infinitive.
Could I translate laten drinken as 'made him drink' instead of 'let him drink'?
Yes! The Dutch verb laten is used both for giving permission ("to let" someone do something) and for causing an action ("to make" or "have" someone do something). Depending on the context of the story, it is very likely they forced or made him drink the poison.
Why is the word order hem het gif and not the other way around?
In this clause, hem (him) is the indirect object, and het gif (the poison) is the direct object. In Dutch, when the indirect object is a personal pronoun (like hem, haar, or mij), it naturally comes before the direct object noun.
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