Breakdown of Nu de baby in het bad zit, was ik hem.
ik
I
in
in
wassen
to wash
hem
him
de baby
the baby
zitten
to be (located) in
nu
now that
het bad
the bath
Questions & Answers about Nu de baby in het bad zit, was ik hem.
Why does the verb zit go at the very end of the first clause?
In this sentence, nu means 'now that' and acts as a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which forces the conjugated verb (zit) all the way to the end of that clause.
How can I tell if nu means 'now that' instead of just the regular word for 'now'?
You can tell by the word order! If nu were just the normal time adverb for 'now', it would push the verb to the second position right away: Nu zit de baby in het bad. Because the verb is parked at the end instead, you know nu is being used as a conjunction tying two thoughts together.
Why does the second part say was ik instead of ik was?
This is a great example of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first clause (Nu de baby in het bad zit) counts as the first block of information in the whole sentence. To keep the main verb (was) in the required second position, the subject (ik) has to jump behind it.
Why does the Dutch sentence use zit (sits) rather than is (is)?
Dutch uses posture verbs like zitten (to sit), staan (to stand), and liggen (to lie) to describe physical location much more frequently than English does. Because a baby is literally sitting up in the bathwater, zit sounds far more natural to a Dutch speaker than is.
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