Breakdown of Nadat hij de soep had opgewarmd, streek hij neer op de bank.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
de soep
the soup
op
on
de bank
the sofa / couch
nadat
after
opwarmen
to warm up
neerstrijken
to settle down
Questions & Answers about Nadat hij de soep had opgewarmd, streek hij neer op de bank.
Why do we use the past perfect (had opgewarmd) here instead of the simple past?
This highlights the strict rule for nadat (after). Because the main action happened in the simple past (streek neer), the action in the nadat clause must be placed one step further back in time. Therefore, it requires the past perfect. Dutch is much stricter about this alignment than English.
Why is the main clause inverted to streek hij neer?
The entire subordinate clause (Nadat hij de soep had opgewarmd) occupies the first position in the sentence. To satisfy the verb-second (V2) rule, the conjugated verb of the main clause (streek) must come exactly second, pushing the subject (hij) to the third position.
What verb does streek neer come from?
It comes from the separable strong verb neerstrijken (to settle down). While it originally describes birds landing or touching down, it is commonly used as a colorful way to describe a person settling down comfortably, like plopping onto a couch.
In the first clause, could we also say ...Nadat hij de soep opgewarmd had?
Yes! In a subordinate clause, all verbs are sent to the end. When you have an auxiliary verb (had) and a past participle (opgewarmd), you can put them in either order: had opgewarmd or opgewarmd had. Both are perfectly correct and natural in Dutch.
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