Breakdown of Het zweet begon van mijn voorhoofd te druppen.
beginnen
to begin
mijn
my
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
te
to (infinitive marker)
het zweet
the sweat
het voorhoofd
the forehead
druppen
to drip
Questions & Answers about Het zweet begon van mijn voorhoofd te druppen.
The lesson is about iterative verbs like druppelen, but this sentence uses the base verb druppen. What is the difference?
Druppen refers to the simple action of dripping, focusing on the occurrence itself. By adding the -elen suffix, druppelen becomes an iterative verb, emphasizing a continuous, repetitive, and often lighter action of drops falling one by one. Here, the sweat is just starting to drip, so the basic form works perfectly, though te druppelen would also be correct to emphasize a continuous trickling.
Why do we need the word te before druppen here?
The verb beginnen (to begin) requires te before the infinitive of the second verb. While you might remember that modal verbs like kunnen or zullen do not take te, verbs of phase or intention like beginnen, proberen, and weigeren always pair with te plus an infinitive to link the actions.
Could I add af to this sentence to say the sweat dripped 'off' my forehead?
Yes! Changing the phrase to van mijn voorhoofd af te druppen is very natural in Dutch. It creates the circumposition van ... af, which emphasizes the physical movement away from and off the surface of your forehead.
Is it common to use the noun het zweet instead of just using the verb zweten (to sweat)?
Using the noun het zweet as the subject is common when you want to paint a vivid, descriptive picture of the physical sweat itself moving. If you merely wanted to state the physical reaction without the dramatic imagery, you would use the verb and say Ik begon op mijn voorhoofd te zweten (I started sweating on my forehead).
Learn Het zweet begon van mijn voorhoofd te druppen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free