Breakdown of De moeder is zo bezorgd dat ze huilt.
zijn
to be
de moeder
the mother
huilen
to cry
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
zo
so (to such a degree)
dat
that (conjunction)
bezorgd
worried
Questions & Answers about De moeder is zo bezorgd dat ze huilt.
How does the zo ... dat structure work in this sentence?
Just like in English ("so ... that"), zo is placed before the adjective (bezorgd) to show the intensity of the feeling, and dat introduces the result of that intensity (the fact that she cries).
Why is the verb huilt at the very end of the sentence?
The word dat is a subordinating conjunction. In Dutch, this means it introduces a subclause where the verb gets pushed to the end of the sentence. Since huilt is the only verb in that part of the sentence, it goes right at the end after the subject ze.
Why does bezorgd end in a 'd', looking like a past-tense verb?
Bezorgd is indeed the past participle of the verb bezorgen (which normally means "to deliver"), but it is used here as a standard adjective meaning "worried". Because the stem of bezorgen ends in 'g', the participle takes a -d instead of a -t.
Could I use zij instead of ze before huilt?
You could, but ze is much more natural here. You usually only use the emphasized form zij if you want to contrast who is doing the action. Here, the focus is on the result (the crying itself), so the unstressed ze is the right choice.
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