Breakdown of Je hoeft de gluten niet te eten, en je hoeft de soja ook niet te eten.
en
and
ook
also / -ever (concessive particle)
niet
not
eten
to eat
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
hoeven
to need (to)
te
to (infinitive marker)
de gluten
the gluten
de soja
the soy
Questions & Answers about Je hoeft de gluten niet te eten, en je hoeft de soja ook niet te eten.
Why does ook niet come after the object de soja instead of before it?
Because de soja is a specific direct object (indicated by the definite article de). In Dutch word order, adverbs of negation like niet or the combination ook niet must be placed after a specific direct object.
How do we translate "either" in the second half of this sentence?
English puts "not" near the verb and "either" at the end of the sentence. Dutch simply combines ook (also) and niet (not) to create ook niet (literally "also not").
Why is the verb hoeven used here instead of moeten for "have to"?
This is a crucial difference between Dutch and English! If you say je moet niet (you must not), it means eating it is strictly forbidden. To say that you "do not have to" do something (it is not required, but allowed), you must use the verb hoeven together with a negative word (like niet) and the word te before the infinitive verb (te eten).
Why do both niet and ook niet appear right before te eten?
In a Dutch sentence, additional verbs (like the infinitive te eten) get pushed all the way to the end of the clause. Adverbs like niet and ook niet tend to be placed as far back in the middle of the sentence as possible, which lands them right before those final verbs.
Learn Je hoeft de gluten niet te eten, en je hoeft de soja ook niet te eten and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free