Breakdown of Ik zweer nooit meer te roken.
ik
I
roken
to smoke
nooit
never
meer
more
te
to (infinitive marker)
zweren
to swear
Questions & Answers about Ik zweer nooit meer te roken.
What would the full dat-clause version of this sentence look like?
The full version would be Ik zweer dat ik nooit meer zal roken (I swear that I will never smoke again). Because the subject of both the main verb (ik zweer) and the second action is the same, you can drop the second ik and the finite verb, replacing them with te + infinitive. This shortened structure is called a beknopte bijzin (concise sub-clause).
Where exactly does te go in sentences with an infinitive clause?
The word te always goes immediately before the infinitive verb (roken), and together they sit at the very end of the sentence or clause. Any modifiers, such as the time phrase nooit meer (never again), must be placed before the te + infinitive cluster.
Does the infinitive te roken imply a future action here even without the verb zullen?
Yes. Verbs that express promises, intentions, or expectations (like zweren, beloven, or hopen) naturally point to a future action. The infinitive construction absorbs that future meaning, so you do not need to add a future auxiliary verb to the shortened clause.
Could I use niet meer instead of nooit meer here?
You could, but it changes the nuance. Nooit meer translates to "never again," which carries a dramatic weight that pairs perfectly with zweren (to swear). Using niet meer would mean "not anymore" or "no longer" (e.g., I swear to stop smoking), which is grammatically fine but a bit less emphatic.
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