Breakdown of 's Morgens zit hij altijd met de armen gekruist aan tafel.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
altijd
always
met
with
zitten
to sit
Questions & Answers about 's Morgens zit hij altijd met de armen gekruist aan tafel.
How does the structure met de armen gekruist work here?
This is an "absolute construction" used to describe an accompanying circumstance—in this case, his physical posture. It is formed with met (with) + noun (de armen) + past participle (gekruist). This is the standard Dutch way to express English phrases like "with his arms crossed" or "with his eyes closed".
Why does the sentence use de armen (the arms) instead of zijn armen (his arms)?
When referring to body parts, Dutch frequently uses a definite article (de or het) instead of a possessive pronoun (like zijn) if the "owner" is already obvious. Because hij is the subject of the sentence, it is implicitly understood that it is his own arms.
Could I place aan tafel before met de armen gekruist?
It is much more natural to keep aan tafel at the end. Dutch word order generally follows the Time-Manner-Place rule. Here, met de armen gekruist acts as the Manner (how he sits), and aan tafel acts as the Place (where he sits), so the Manner should come before the Place.
Why does the verb zit come before the subject hij?