Breakdown of U hoeft maar te bellen of de conciërge staat klaar.
u
you (formal)
bellen
to call
hoeven
to need (to)
te
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about U hoeft maar te bellen of de conciërge staat klaar.
Why does the sentence use of? Doesn't of usually mean "or" or "whether"?
Could I use moeten here instead of hoeven, since they both translate to "have to"?
No, you cannot use moeten here. Dutch uses hoeven instead of moeten when limiting or negating an obligation using words like niet (not), alleen (only), or maar (just/only). Because of the limiting word maar, you must use hoeven and pair it with te before the infinitive.
Why is the word order de conciërge staat klaar normal here? Doesn't a conjunction sometimes push the verb to the end?
Some conjunctions do push the verb to the end, but of is a coordinating conjunction, just like en (and) or maar (but). Coordinating conjunctions connect two equal clauses and do not change the word order. Therefore, the second part remains a standard main clause with Subject-Verb order: de conciërge staat klaar.
Is klaar just an adjective here or is it part of the verb?