Breakdown of Ik heb rust nodig om te kunnen werken.
ik
I
hebben
to have
werken
to work
nodig
needed
kunnen
can
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de rust
the peace (calmness, quiet) / the rest
Questions & Answers about Ik heb rust nodig om te kunnen werken.
Why does te come before kunnen rather than werken?
In an om ... te clause with multiple infinitives, te always goes immediately before the first infinitive of the verb cluster. Here, the modal verb kunnen acts as that first infinitive, followed by the main verb werken. You cannot say om kunnen te werken.
Could I just drop kunnen and say om te werken?
Why does nodig come after rust instead of before it?
The Dutch expression for to need is nodig hebben. In a main clause, the conjugated verb heb takes the second position, while nodig gets pushed to the end of the clause, coming after the direct object rust.
Where would I put an adverb like goed if I wanted to say to be able to work well?
Any additional words like adverbs or direct objects are placed between om and the te + verb cluster. The sentence would become Ik heb rust nodig om goed te kunnen werken.
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