Breakdown of De deskundige adviseert de burgemeester om te wachten.
wachten
to wait
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de burgemeester
the mayor
de deskundige
the expert
adviseren
to advise
Questions & Answers about De deskundige adviseert de burgemeester om te wachten.
Who is actually doing the waiting in this sentence, and how does the grammar show it?
The mayor (de burgemeester) is the one who will wait. In grammar terms, de burgemeester is the object of the main verb adviseert (advises), but acts as the "semantic subject" of the infinitive clause om te wachten. This is called an object control structure, and it works exactly like it does in English.
Is the word om required here, or could we just say te wachten?
You can safely leave om out and just say adviseert de burgemeester te wachten. However, adding om is very common and often sounds slightly more natural in everyday Dutch when setting up an infinitive clause like this.
Could I add aan before de burgemeester?
Yes! The verb adviseren treats the person being advised as an indirect object. You can explicitly say adviseert aan de burgemeester om te wachten, though dropping aan is perfectly normal and very common.
Why does the infinitive clause om te wachten sit at the very end of the sentence?
Longer infinitive clauses with (om) te are usually placed at the very end of the sentence, outside the "verbal bracket" (the space between the conjugated verb and any other verbs). Tacking them onto the end keeps the main clause neat and easy to process.
Learn De deskundige adviseert de burgemeester om te wachten and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free