Breakdown of Hebben jullie een mes om de pompoen mee te snijden?
een
a/an
jullie
you (plural)
hebben
to have
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
snijden
to cut
het mes
the knife
mee
along, with (too)
de pompoen
the pumpkin
Questions & Answers about Hebben jullie een mes om de pompoen mee te snijden?
Why does the sentence use mee instead of met for 'with'?
In this grammar structure, we are linking the preposition 'with' back to the noun een mes (a knife). When the preposition met is separated from the noun it refers to, it changes to its pronominal form mee. This works just like English when you put 'with' at the end of the phrase: 'a knife to cut the pumpkin with'.
What is the word order rule for placing mee in this clause?
The stranded preposition (mee) usually goes right before the te + infinitive block at the end of the sentence. The exact structure here is: om + [direct object: de pompoen] + [stranded preposition: mee] + te + [infinitive: snijden].
Could I just say Hebben jullie een mes om met de pompoen te snijden?
No, because that changes the meaning entirely! The preposition met always applies to the noun immediately following it. So that sentence would mean 'Do you have a knife to cut along with the pumpkin?' (as if you and the pumpkin are chopping things together). By using the stranded preposition mee, you clearly show that it refers back to een mes outside of the clause.
Are mee, te, and snijden written as completely separate words here?
Yes. You might be remembering separable verbs where parts join together in a similar structure (like om erover na te denken). However, mee is not a prefix of the verb snijden here; it is purely a preposition belonging to een mes. Therefore, they stay separate: mee te snijden.
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