Breakdown of De monteur is bezig met sleutelen.
zijn
to be
met
with
bezig
busy (occupied, engaged)
de monteur
the mechanic
Questions & Answers about De monteur is bezig met sleutelen.
Why use is bezig met here instead of the usual continuous form is aan het sleutelen?
Both express that an action is currently happening. However, bezig zijn met specifically emphasizes being actively occupied or busy with a task, whereas the standard aan het form just neutrally states the ongoing action. In this sentence, sleutelen acts as a noun (a substantival infinitive) following the preposition met.
The lesson also teaches using te + infinitive. Could I say is bezig te sleutelen instead?
Yes, you can! De monteur is bezig te sleutelen is grammatically correct and means exactly the same thing. However, using met + infinitive is extremely common for standalone physical tasks like this and sounds very natural in everyday spoken Dutch.
How would I add an object to this sentence, like saying the mechanic is busy tinkering "on a car"?
You can use either of the structures taught in this lesson. If you use met, the verb acts as a noun, so we often add het: De monteur is bezig met het sleutelen aan een auto. If you use the te + infinitive structure, you place the object before the verb: De monteur is bezig (om) aan een auto te sleutelen.
What is the literal meaning of the verb sleutelen?