Breakdown of Als de dosis hoog is, smeer je de zalf om de vier dagen.
zijn
to be
vier
four
de dag
the day
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
hoog
high / tall
als
if / when (condition)
om de
every (at intervals)
smeren
to apply (a substance) / to smear
de zalf
the ointment
de dosis
the dose
Questions & Answers about Als de dosis hoog is, smeer je de zalf om de vier dagen.
Why does the sentence use om de vier dagen instead of elke vier dagen?
To express a recurring interval like "every four days", Dutch uses the set phrase om de followed by a number and a plural noun. While you use elke or iedere for singular intervals (like elke dag for "every day"), om de is the standard, natural way to express distributive frequency for multiple days, such as om de vier dagen.
Why is the verb order flipped to smeer je instead of je smeert?
This happens because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause: Als de dosis hoog is (If the dose is high). In Dutch, this entire clause occupies the first position of the overall sentence. The main verb must sit in the second position, so smeer comes right after the comma, pushing the subject je to the third position. This is called inversion.
Why doesn't the verb have a -t at the end (like smeert je)?
When the subject je or jij (meaning "you" singular) comes immediately after the verb due to inversion, the rule is to drop the -t from the conjugation. The stem of the verb is smeer, so it correctly becomes smeer je. If the word order were normal, it would indeed have the -t: je smeert.
The verb smeren translates to "smear" in English, which sounds messy. Is this the normal word for applying ointment?
Yes! Unlike in English, where "smear" can imply a messy or careless action, smeren is the completely standard, everyday Dutch verb for spreading or applying substances like butter, sunscreen, cream, or ointment (zalf). You could also use the more formal word aanbrengen (to apply), but smeren is the most common choice.
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