Breakdown of Ik bel de dierenarts. Mijn hond is namelijk ziek.
ik
I
zijn
to be
de hond
the dog
bellen
to call
Questions & Answers about Ik bel de dierenarts. Mijn hond is namelijk ziek.
Why do we use namelijk here instead of a word like want?
namelijk is a great way to explain or give a reason for the sentence you just said. While want and omdat are conjunctions that glue two clauses together into one long sentence, namelijk is an adverb. It allows you to start a fresh, short sentence while still providing the 'why'.
Why is namelijk placed after the verb is?
Because it is an adverb, namelijk does not change the word order like omdat would. The second sentence keeps normal main clause word order: the subject (Mijn hond) is first, the verb (is) is second, and namelijk sits in the middle field right before the adjective it relates to (ziek).
Does namelijk always translate to the phrase 'you see'?
Not exactly. It does not have one perfect English equivalent. Depending on the context, it can translate to 'you see', 'namely', or act like 'because'. The important thing is what it does: it signals to the listener that this sentence is the reason for the previous statement.
Why is Ik bel translated as 'I am calling' rather than 'I call'?
Dutch uses the simple present tense (Ik bel) for actions happening right now much more often than English does. Although you could use a continuous form here like Ik ben aan het bellen, the simple present is perfectly natural and very common.