Breakdown of Ik hou van de afwisseling: dan weer lees ik, dan weer schrijf ik.
ik
I
lezen
to read
houden van
to love / to like
schrijven
to write
dan weer
now ... then / sometimes (alternating)
de afwisseling
the variation / the change (variety)
Questions & Answers about Ik hou van de afwisseling: dan weer lees ik, dan weer schrijf ik.
How exactly does dan weer ... dan weer translate to 'sometimes ... sometimes' here?
The phrase dan weer literally means 'then again'. When repeated as a correlative pair (dan weer ... dan weer), it expresses an alternation between two actions or states. In English, we usually say 'sometimes ... sometimes', 'now ... then', or 'one moment ..., the next ...'.
Why is the word order lees ik and schrijf ik instead of ik lees and ik schrijf?
This happens because of the verb-second (V2) rule. Since each clause starts with the adverbial phrase dan weer, the verb (lees or schrijf) must take the second position. This pushes the subject (ik) to the other side of the verb, causing inversion.
Is there a specific reason the noun afwisseling is used before this pattern?
Yes! Afwisseling means 'variation' or 'alternation' (from the verb afwisselen, to alternate). The dan weer ... dan weer structure is the perfect grammatical way to describe this exact kind of alternating pattern, so you will often see them used together in Dutch.
Why is it spelled Ik hou van instead of Ik houd van?
For the verb houden (to hold / to love), the first-person singular can be written as either houd or hou. Both are completely correct, but dropping the final 'd' is extremely common in spoken Dutch and everyday writing.
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