Breakdown of De applicatie op de server staat op het punt om vast te lopen.
op
on
staan
to stand
het punt
the point / the score
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de server
the server
de applicatie
the application
vastlopen
to freeze (computers, machines)
Questions & Answers about De applicatie op de server staat op het punt om vast te lopen.
How does the "about to" structure work in this sentence?
We use the fixed expression op het punt staan (literally: to stand on the point). Because the subject is de applicatie, the verb is conjugated as staat. To connect this to the action that is about to happen, you use om ... te followed by the infinitive verb at the very end of the sentence.
Is the word om required here?
No, it's optional. With the expression op het punt staan, you can leave it out and simply say ... staat op het punt vast te lopen. However, adding om is extremely common in everyday Dutch and helps give the sentence a nice rhythm.
Why is it written as vast te lopen instead of te vastlopen?
Vastlopen (to freeze / crash / get stuck) is a separable verb, made up of the prefix vast and the verb lopen. When a separable verb needs te before it, the te always goes right in the middle between the prefix and the main verb part, and they are written as three separate words.
What does vastlopen literally mean?
Literally, it means "to run stuck" or "to walk fast/fixed" (vast + lopen). It is a highly versatile verb in Dutch used whenever a process stops moving forward. You can use it for a machine that jams, a project or negotiation that hits a dead end, or—like here—a computer application that freezes.
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