Breakdown of Nu de baby huilt, zit de vader hem bij het bad te troosten.
zitten
to sit
de vader
the father
bij
at / near / by
hem
him
Questions & Answers about Nu de baby huilt, zit de vader hem bij het bad te troosten.
Does nu mean "now" or "now that" here?
In this sentence, nu acts as a subordinating conjunction meaning "now that". Because it introduces a subordinate clause, it pushes the verb huilt to the end of that clause. If you just wanted to say "Now the baby is crying" (using nu as a regular adverb), the verb would come right after it: Nu huilt de baby.
Why does the second part start with the verb zit instead of de vader zit?
This is because of inversion. The entire first clause (Nu de baby huilt) acts as the first building block of the whole sentence. In Dutch, the main verb must always be in the second position. So, the verb zit comes immediately after the comma, swapping places with the subject de vader.
What is the grammar behind zit ... te troosten?
This is the Dutch way of showing an ongoing, continuous action. Dutch uses verbs of posture like zitten (to sit), staan (to stand), or lopen (to walk) followed by te + an infinitive. Here, zit te troosten literally means "sits to comfort", which is how Dutch expresses "is comforting" while emphasizing the father's seated position.
Why does the pronoun hem come before the location bij het bad?