Breakdown of Jullie zouden meer vitamines moeten nemen, naargelang jullie minder fruit eten.
jullie
you (plural)
eten
to eat
nemen
to take (general, abstract, e.g., transport, medicine)
moeten
to have to, must
zullen
shall / will
meer
more
minder
less / fewer
het fruit
the fruit
naargelang
depending on whether / as (in proportion to)
de vitamine
the vitamin
Questions & Answers about Jullie zouden meer vitamines moeten nemen, naargelang jullie minder fruit eten.
Why is the verb eten placed at the very end of the sentence?
The word naargelang acts as a subordinating conjunction here. Whenever a clause starts with a subordinating conjunction, it becomes a dependent clause, which forces all of its verbs—in this case, just eten—to the very end.
What is the exact nuance of naargelang here compared to just using omdat (because)?
While omdat simply gives a reason, naargelang highlights a proportional relationship. It means "in proportion to" or "depending on the fact that." It implies a sliding scale: the less fruit you eat, the more vitamins you need to make up for it.
How does using zouden moeten change the meaning compared to just saying Jullie moeten meer vitamines nemen?
In the main clause, why is the verb cluster ordered as moeten nemen instead of nemen moeten?
Because zouden takes the second position in the sentence as the conjugated verb, the infinitives are pushed to the end. In Dutch verb clusters, a modal auxiliary verb like moeten almost always comes before the main action verb like nemen.
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