Breakdown of We weten te profiteren van de rust om te gaan lezen.
lezen
to read
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
weten te
to manage to
de rust
the peace (calmness, quiet) / the rest
profiteren
to profit / to benefit
Questions & Answers about We weten te profiteren van de rust om te gaan lezen.
Why is te placed before gaan and not lezen in the final clause?
When an om ... te clause contains multiple infinitives, the word te must be placed immediately before the first verb in the chain. In this sentence, gaan acts as an auxiliary verb, so it comes first. Therefore, we say om te gaan lezen, and never om gaan te lezen.
Why does weten te profiteren translate to "manage to benefit" rather than "know to benefit"?
The combination of weten te plus an infinitive is a very common Dutch idiom. While weten literally means "to know", this specific construction is used to mean "to manage to" or "to succeed in" doing something.
Could I change the word order to om te lezen gaan?
No, that word order is incorrect. In a chain of infinitives at the end of a Dutch clause, the auxiliary or modal verb (here, gaan) must come before the main action verb (lezen).
Why do we use the preposition van here?
The verb profiteren (to profit or benefit) is tightly bound to the preposition van. Just like in English where you benefit "from" something, in Dutch you always use profiteren van.
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