Breakdown of Bewaar het deksel om de lantaarn mee af te sluiten.
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
afsluiten
to close off
mee
along, with (too)
bewaren
to keep / preserve
de lantaarn
the lantern
het deksel
the lid
Questions & Answers about Bewaar het deksel om de lantaarn mee af te sluiten.
How does the structure om... mee... te work here to mean 'to close with'?
This is an attributive prepositional infinitive. Just like English 'the lid to close the lantern with', Dutch wraps the clause around the object. It starts with the noun het deksel, followed by om, the direct object de lantaarn, the stranded preposition mee (with), and finally te plus the infinitive afsluiten.
Why do we use mee instead of the normal word for 'with', which is met?
In Dutch, when the preposition met is separated from the noun it refers back to (here, het deksel), it turns into a 'stranded preposition' and changes its form to mee. You will always use mee instead of met when it sits by itself before the verbs at the end of a clause.
Why is te placed right in the middle of af te sluiten?
The verb afsluiten (to close off, to seal) is a separable verb consisting of the prefix af and the verb sluiten. Whenever a separable verb needs a te before it, the te is sandwiched directly between the prefix and the main verb, resulting in a three-word phrase like af te sluiten.
Why does de lantaarn come before mee?
In an om... te clause, the direct object of the action (de lantaarn) typically comes right after om. The stranded preposition (mee) gets pushed toward the end of the clause, landing just before the final verb cluster (af te sluiten).
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