Breakdown of Zodra de vogel de pil slikt, geeft hij over.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
de vogel
the bird
zodra
as soon as
de pil
pill
slikken
to swallow
overgeven
to vomit
Questions & Answers about Zodra de vogel de pil slikt, geeft hij over.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with geeft instead of hij geeft?
This happens because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first clause (Zodra de vogel de pil slikt) acts as the first piece of information in the sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position overall, geeft must come right after the comma, causing an inversion where it swaps places with the subject hij.
Why is the verb slikt at the very end of the first clause?
The word zodra (as soon as) is a subordinating conjunction. In Dutch, these types of connecting words introduce a subordinate clause, which forces the conjugated verb (slikt) to the very end of that clause.
Where does the word over at the end of the sentence come from?
It is part of the verb geeft. The full infinitive is overgeven, which is a separable verb meaning 'to vomit' or 'to throw up'. When a separable verb is conjugated in a main clause, the prefix (over) detaches and moves to the end of the sentence.
How could I add a follow-up sentence using namelijk to explain why the bird vomits?
You could add a standalone main clause like: De pil is namelijk giftig. (The pill is poisonous, you see.) The adverb namelijk sits comfortably in the middle field (after the verb) to give a reason for the previous statement. Because it is an adverb and not a conjunction like omdat, it doesn't push the verb to the end of the sentence.
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