Breakdown of Je wordt helemaal doorweekt, behalve wanneer je die lange regenjas draagt.
jij
you
dragen
to wear
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
lang
long
helemaal
completely
worden
to become
de regenjas
the raincoat
behalve wanneer
except when / unless
doorweekt
soaked / drenched
Questions & Answers about Je wordt helemaal doorweekt, behalve wanneer je die lange regenjas draagt.
Can I use tenzij instead of behalve wanneer here?
Yes, you can. Both tenzij and behalve wanneer (or behalve als) mean "unless". Tenzij is the more common, standard word for "unless", but behalve wanneer literally means "except when" and places a slightly stronger emphasis on the specific situation or time that forms the exception. Both trigger the same subordinate word order.
Why is the verb draagt placed at the very end of the sentence?
Because behalve wanneer acts as a subordinating conjunction. This means the clause that follows it (je die lange regenjas draagt) is a subordinate clause, which requires the conjugated verb to move to the end.
The translation says "will get", so why does the Dutch sentence use the present tense wordt instead of zal worden?
Dutch frequently uses the simple present tense to talk about the future, especially for natural consequences or events that are certain to happen if a condition isn't met. Saying Je zal helemaal doorweekt worden is grammatically correct but sounds unnecessarily formal and wordy compared to just using wordt.
Why doesn't the past participle doorweekt have a ge- prefix?
It comes from the verb doorweken (to soak through). Because the stress falls on the second syllable (door-WE-ken), the prefix door- is inseparable. Inseparable verbs do not get a ge- prefix in their past participle form. In this sentence, it functions as an adjective meaning "soaked".
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