Breakdown of Je moet de theorie bestuderen om ervan te kunnen profiteren.
kunnen
can
moeten
to have to, must
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de theorie
the theory
bestuderen
to study (examine closely)
ervan
of it, from it
profiteren
to profit / to benefit
Questions & Answers about Je moet de theorie bestuderen om ervan te kunnen profiteren.
Why does te go before kunnen instead of profiteren?
When you have an om ... te construction with multiple verbs at the end (a verb cluster), te always sits immediately before the first verb in that cluster. Here, the modal verb kunnen comes before profiteren, so te must go right before kunnen. You cannot say kunnen te profiteren.
Where does ervan come from in this sentence?
The Dutch verb for "to benefit from" is profiteren van. Because we are referring back to an inanimate object (the theory), Dutch grammar requires replacing van het (from it) with the pronominal adverb ervan.
Can I split ervan in this sentence?
In this specific, short clause, ervan naturally stays together right before the verb cluster. However, if you added more details to this part of the sentence, it would split. For example, if you wanted to add later, you would say: om er later van te kunnen profiteren.
Could I leave out kunnen and just say om ervan te profiteren?
Yes, absolutely! om ervan te profiteren simply means "to benefit from it". Adding the modal verb kunnen changes the meaning slightly to "to be able to benefit from it", emphasizing that studying the theory gives you the ability or opportunity to use it.
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