Breakdown of Vooral deze lange lucifer is handig om de kaars mee aan te steken.
zijn
to be
deze
this / these
lang
long
vooral
especially
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
mee
along, with (too)
aansteken
to light
handig
handy
de kaars
the candle
de lucifer
the match (for lighting a fire)
Questions & Answers about Vooral deze lange lucifer is handig om de kaars mee aan te steken.
Why do we use mee here instead of met for "with"?
When a preposition like met is separated from the noun it modifies (here, the match) and placed later in the sentence, it turns into its "stranded" adverb form. For met, that form is mee. In these om ... te constructions, the preposition is pushed near the end of the phrase, so it must become mee.
Does mee refer to the candle or the match?
It refers back to the match (de lucifer). The structure roughly translates to "handy in order to light the candle with it." Because "with it" translates to a pronominal adverb in Dutch (normally ermee), but it's referencing the subject of the main clause, it leaves just the stranded preposition mee directly before the verbs.
What is the rule for the word order in the phrase om de kaars mee aan te steken?
The clause is framed by om at the start and te + infinitive at the very end. The direct object (de kaars) comes right after om. The stranded preposition (mee) is placed as close to the verbs as possible, coming right before aan te steken.
Why is te placed in the middle of aan te steken?
The verb being used is aansteken (to light or ignite), which is a separable verb. When a separable verb is used in a te + infinitive construction, the word te is sandwiched between the separable prefix (aan) and the base verb (steken), written as three separate words.
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