Breakdown of Wij maken onbewust de keuze om weg te gaan.
wij
we
maken
to make
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
weg
away, gone
de keuze
the choice
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
onbewust
unaware
Questions & Answers about Wij maken onbewust de keuze om weg te gaan.
How does the prefix on- work in the word onbewust?
The prefix on- is highly productive in Dutch for negating adjectives and participles, working exactly like "un-" or "in-" in English. By attaching it to bewust (conscious or aware), we get onbewust (unconscious or unaware). In this sentence, it functions as an adverb of manner meaning "unconsciously".
Why is the verb written as weg te gaan instead of om te weggaan?
weggaan (to leave) is a separable verb made up of the prefix weg and the base verb gaan. When a separable verb is used in a te-infinitive construction, the word te must be inserted directly between the separable prefix and the verb, splitting it into three separate words: weg te gaan.
Why do we use the om ... te structure here instead of just te?
When an infinitive phrase acts as a complement to a specific noun—like de keuze (the choice), de tijd (the time), or de kans (the chance)—Dutch almost always uses the full om ... te structure to link them. While it translates simply to "the choice to leave", thinking of it as "the choice in order to leave" can help you remember to include om.
Could I place onbewust later in the sentence, for example, right after keuze?
No, that would sound unnatural. In Dutch main clauses, adverbs of manner like onbewust typically come right after the conjugated verb (maken) and before a specific direct object (de keuze). Placing it after the noun would also awkwardly separate the noun from the om ... te phrase describing it.
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