Breakdown of Zonder goede referenties is het moeilijk om een oppas te vinden.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
vinden
to find
het
it
Questions & Answers about Zonder goede referenties is het moeilijk om een oppas te vinden.
Why does the verb is come before the subject het here?
Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase zonder goede referenties. In Dutch, the conjugated verb is usually the second structural element in a main clause (the V2 rule). Since the prepositional phrase takes up the first spot, the verb is comes next, pushing the dummy subject het to the third spot.
Why do we use the om ... te structure here instead of just an infinitive?
When expressing "it is [adjective] to [verb]", Dutch commonly uses the het is [adjective] om [verb phrase] te [infinitive] construction. While om is sometimes grammatically optional, including it is much more natural after adjectives like moeilijk, makkelijk, or belangrijk. The te is strictly required and always sits immediately before the infinitive vinden.
Since this lesson covers weliswaar ... maar, how would the word order work if we added "It is admittedly a nice job, but..." before this sentence?
You would say: Het is weliswaar een leuke baan, maar zonder goede referenties is het moeilijk... The word order in our main sentence does not change. Maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction, meaning it sits outside the standard clause structure and does not take up a position. Zonder goede referenties remains position 1, keeping the verb is in position 2.
Does oppas refer to the babysitter as a person, or the act of babysitting?