Breakdown of We hebben nog veel werk te doen.
hebben
to have
veel
much / many / a lot of
het werk
the work
doen
to do
Questions & Answers about We hebben nog veel werk te doen.
Why do we use hebben ... te doen here instead of a modal verb like moeten?
You could definitely say We moeten nog veel werk doen (We still have to do a lot of work). However, using hebben + te + infinitive is a great way to emphasize the possession of a task, rather than just the strict obligation. It translates directly to the English structure 'to have [something] to do'.
Why does veel werk come between hebben and te doen?
In Dutch, the conjugated verb (hebben) takes the second position in the sentence, while any remaining verbs are pushed all the way to the end. The word te always stays glued directly in front of the infinitive it belongs to (doen). Because of this verbal bracket, the object (veel werk) gets sandwiched in the middle.
What does nog add to this sentence?
nog translates to 'still' in this context. It implies that work has already been ongoing, but the task is not yet finished. While We hebben veel werk te doen just means 'We have a lot of work to do', adding nog adds the nuance of 'We still have a lot of work to do.'
Why is it veel werk and not vele werk?