Breakdown of Tijdens de verhuizing kun je dat matras niet alleen tillen.
niet
not
dat
that (het-words)
kunnen
can
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
Questions & Answers about Tijdens de verhuizing kun je dat matras niet alleen tillen.
Why does the verb kun come before je?
Because the sentence starts with the phrase Tijdens de verhuizing (During the move). In Dutch, the main verb is always the second idea in the sentence (the V2 rule). Since the prepositional phrase takes up the first spot, the verb kun comes second, pushing the subject je to the third spot.
Why is it kun je and not kunt je?
When the subject je or jij (you) comes immediately after the verb, you drop the -t at the end of the verb. So while you would normally say je kunt, it changes to kun je when the word order is inverted.
I thought it was de matras. Why does this sentence use dat?
Matras is one of the rare nouns in Dutch that can be either a de-word or a het-word! Both are completely correct. Because this sentence treats it as a het-word, it uses dat (that). If you prefer using de matras, you would say die matras.
Can I use leggen or zetten here instead of tillen?