Breakdown of De danser zou vandaag graag willen optreden.
vandaag
today
willen
to want
graag
gladly
zullen
shall / will
optreden
to perform
de danser
the dancer
Questions & Answers about De danser zou vandaag graag willen optreden.
Why do we use both zou and willen in this sentence?
Optreden is a separable verb. Why isn't it split up here?
Separable verbs only split when they are the conjugated verb (the one matching the subject, usually in the second position). Because zou is the conjugated verb here, optreden is pushed to the end of the sentence and stays whole as an infinitive.
Why are both willen and optreden at the end, and how do we know which one comes first?
Because zou takes the second position, all additional verbs get pushed to the end of the clause as infinitives. In Dutch verb clusters, a modal verb like willen generally comes right before the main action verb like optreden.
Why does vandaag appear before graag?
Dutch word order usually follows the Time-Manner-Place rule. Here, vandaag tells us when (Time), and graag acts as how (Manner), so the Time word must come first.
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