Breakdown of De dokter stelt vast dat het rusteloze kind een slaappil nodig heeft.
een
a/an
het kind
the child
hebben
to have
nodig
needed
het
it
dat
that (conjunction)
de dokter
the doctor (everyday word)
vaststellen
to determine
rusteloos
restless (unable to rest)
de slaappil
the sleeping pill
Questions & Answers about De dokter stelt vast dat het rusteloze kind een slaappil nodig heeft.
Why is vast at the end of the first clause?
The verb here is vaststellen (to determine or to establish), which is a separable verb. In a main clause, the conjugated part (stelt) goes in the second position, and the prefix (vast) moves to the end of that clause, right before the conjunction dat.
The dictionary form of the adjective is rusteloos. Why does it change to rusteloze here?
When an adjective comes before a specific het noun like het kind, it gets an -e ending. Adding this ending triggers two Dutch spelling rules: the double oo becomes a single o to keep the long vowel sound in an open syllable, and the s changes to a z because it now sits between two vowels.
Why are the words nodig heeft pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The word dat (that) introduces a subordinate clause. In a Dutch subordinate clause, the conjugated verb and other verb parts are pushed to the end. Therefore, nodig heeft comes after the object een slaappil.
In English we say the child needs a pill, but the Dutch uses nodig heeft. How does this expression work?
In Dutch, the concept of needing something is usually expressed with the phrase nodig hebben (literally to have necessary). The thing you need acts as the direct object of the verb hebben. So grammatically, the sentence says the child has a sleeping pill necessary.
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