Breakdown of Die poriën, die moeten we goed schoonmaken.
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
goed
good
moeten
to have to, must
schoonmaken
to clean
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
de porie
the pore
Questions & Answers about Die poriën, die moeten we goed schoonmaken.
Why is the plural of porie written as poriën (with just an -n) instead of adding -ën?
It all comes down to word stress. If the stress falls on the final -ie (like in kopie), you add -ën to make kopieën. But if the stress is on an earlier syllable (like in PO-rie or bac-TE-rie), you just add an -n and place a trema over the existing e to keep the syllables separated.
Why is the word die repeated in this sentence?
This is a conversational structure where the speaker states the topic first for emphasis (Die poriën), pauses, and then starts the actual sentence using a pronoun (die) to point back to it. It gives a strong 'As for those pores, we really must clean them' feeling.
Why does the verb moeten come before the subject we?
Because the second die occupies the first position of the main clause. The strict Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule dictates that the conjugated verb (moeten) must take the second spot, forcing the subject (we) to move directly after it.
Why is schoonmaken written as a single word at the end of the sentence?
It is a separable verb (schoon + maken). Because this sentence uses the modal verb moeten, the main verb schoonmaken is pushed to the very end of the sentence and remains in its full, unseparated infinitive form.
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