Breakdown of Hij is verkouden en daarom snurkt hij.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
en
and
daarom
therefore
verkouden
having a cold
snurken
to snore
Questions & Answers about Hij is verkouden en daarom snurkt hij.
Why does it say is verkouden instead of using the verb hebben, and does it mean he feels cold?
Verkouden zijn is the standard Dutch way to say "to have a cold." Because verkouden is an adjective here, it uses the verb zijn (to be) rather than hebben. It is a common trap for English speakers: it does not mean he feels chilly. To say "He is cold" (feeling chilly), you would say Hij heeft het koud.
Why is the word order snurkt hij rather than hij snurkt in the second half of the sentence?
The word daarom (therefore) is an adverb. When you start a clause with an adverb, it takes the first position. Because Dutch main clauses follow the "verb-second" rule, the verb snurkt must immediately follow it, forcing the subject hij to come after the verb. This is called inversion.
How can I apply this lesson's prefix rule to complain about his continuous snoring?
You can create a noun out of the verb snurken (to snore) to describe an ongoing, irritating action. Take the prefix ge- and add it to the verb stem, snurk. This creates the noun het gesnurk. For example, you could complain by saying: Ik kan niet slapen door dat gesnurk (I can't sleep because of that snoring).
Could I use dus instead of en daarom here?
Yes, you could say Hij is verkouden, dus snurkt hij (or dus hij snurkt). While daarom specifically means "for that reason" or "therefore," dus is simply translated as "so." Notice that you generally drop the word en when using dus.
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