Breakdown of Probeer je niet te vertillen aan het meubel.
niet
not
proberen
to try
het meubel
the piece of furniture
te
to (infinitive marker)
zich vertillen aan
to strain oneself lifting
Questions & Answers about Probeer je niet te vertillen aan het meubel.
How does the prefix ver- change the meaning of tillen here?
The verb tillen means to lift. When you add the prefix ver- and make it reflexive (zich vertillen), it expresses making a mistake or executing the action poorly. Here, it specifically means to injure or strain yourself by lifting something incorrectly or that is too heavy.
Why is the preposition aan used here?
In Dutch, the fixed combination is zich vertillen aan iets (to strain oneself on something). Think of it as injuring yourself on or due to the physical object you are trying to lift.
Why is the reflexive pronoun je placed right after Probeer instead of next to vertillen?
In a te + infinitive construction, the reflexive pronoun (je) usually moves up the sentence, landing right after the main verb (Probeer) and its subject. It does not stay glued to the infinitive (vertillen) at the end of the sentence.
Could I use zich instead of je in this sentence?
No, because the main verb Probeer is an imperative command directed at you. The reflexive pronoun must match this implied second-person subject, so it has to be je (yourself), not the third-person zich.
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