Breakdown of Toen de juf de jongen plaagde, begon hij te huilen.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
de jongen
the boy
beginnen
to begin
huilen
to cry
toen
when / then (in the past)
te
to (infinitive marker)
de juf
the female teacher (primary school)
plagen
to tease
Questions & Answers about Toen de juf de jongen plaagde, begon hij te huilen.
Why is toen used here instead of als to mean 'when'?
In Dutch, toen is used for a single, specific event in the past. Here, it implies the teacher teased him on this one specific occasion. If you wanted to say 'Whenever the teacher teased the boy...' (a repeated past habit), you would use als.
Why is the word order begon hij instead of hij begon?
The sentence starts with a subordinate clause (Toen de juf de jongen plaagde). This entire clause takes up the first position in the overall sentence. Because Dutch is a 'verb-second' language, the main verb (begon) must come immediately after that first block of information, causing the subject (hij) to swap places and come after the verb (inversion).
Could I use lerares instead of juf?
You could, but it changes the context. A juf (short for juffrouw) specifically refers to a female teacher in a primary school or kindergarten. Lerares is a more general term for a female teacher, usually at the high school level or higher.
Why is there a te before huilen?
The verb beginnen (to begin or start) requires the word te when it is followed by another verb in the infinitive. Just like in English ('started to cry'), you need the connecting word, resulting in begon te huilen.
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