Breakdown of Ons innige verlangen is om altijd samen te zijn.
zijn
to be
samen
together
altijd
always
ons
our
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
innig
intimate
het verlangen
the longing
Questions & Answers about Ons innige verlangen is om altijd samen te zijn.
Why is it innige with an -e, given that verlangen is a het-word and ons doesn't end in an -e?
This is a common trap! Adjectives only drop the -e before a het-word if the noun is indefinite (like after een or geen). Possessive pronouns like ons (our) make the noun definite, so the adjective gets the standard -e ending. It is een innig verlangen, but ons innige verlangen.
How do we know that verlangen is a het-word?
Verlangen (longing) is a noun made directly from the verb verlangen (to long). In Dutch, all nouns that are simply the full infinitive verb used as a noun are automatically het-words.
Could we use a noun ending in -de for 'longing' here, since that is the current lesson?
No. The -de suffix is used to turn adjectives into nouns (like koud into koude, or lief into liefde). Because 'longing' comes from an action (a verb) rather than a physical property or characteristic (an adjective), we turn it into a noun by using the full infinitive instead.
Why is there an om before altijd samen te zijn?
In Dutch, om ... te plus an infinitive is used not just for 'in order to', but also when an infinitive phrase acts as the specific content or explanation of a noun (like a verlangen, wens, or plan). It bridges the noun and the action you are longing for.
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