Breakdown of Hij is bezig de krik en de rem te repareren.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
en
and
repareren
to repair
te
to (infinitive marker)
bezig
busy (occupied, engaged)
de rem
the brake
de krik
the jack
Questions & Answers about Hij is bezig de krik en de rem te repareren.
Why is there no met in this sentence? The lesson mentioned bezig zijn met.
You use met when the task is a noun, like Hij is bezig met de auto (He is busy with the car). Because this sentence describes the task with an actual verb (repareren), we use the te + infinitive structure instead.
Could I use om in this sentence?
Yes! It is very common to include om to introduce the infinitive phrase. You could say Hij is bezig om de krik en de rem te repareren. Leaving om out, as this sentence does, is also correct and means the exact same thing.
Why are de krik en de rem placed before te repareren?
In Dutch, verbs get pushed to the end of the clause. In a te + infinitive phrase, the object (de krik en de rem) must come before the verb (te repareren).
What exactly is a krik?
A krik is a car jack, the tool used to lift a vehicle so you can work underneath it or change a tire.
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