Breakdown of Het product belandt in de hoek, om vervolgens ongebruikt te blijven.
in
in
de hoek
the corner
blijven
to stay
het product
the product
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
vervolgens
then / subsequently (next in a sequence)
belanden
to end up
ongebruikt
unused
Questions & Answers about Het product belandt in de hoek, om vervolgens ongebruikt te blijven.
Why does om vervolgens translate to "only to" here, rather than "in order to"?
The standard om ... te construction usually expresses purpose ("in order to"). However, adding vervolgens (subsequently/then) flips this into a narrative device. Instead of showing purpose, om vervolgens shows an ironic or unexpected outcome, perfectly matching the English phrase "only to".
Is the verb belandt related to "landing"?
Yes, belanden literally means "to land", but in Dutch it is the standard verb for "to end up" somewhere or in a certain situation, usually by chance or unintentionally. Saying it belandt in de hoek implies it was carelessly tossed or abandoned, rather than deliberately stored.
Why is the word ongebruikt placed between vervolgens and te blijven?
In any om ... te clause, the te plus the infinitive verb (te blijven) must sit at the very end. Any other information belonging to that part of the sentence, such as the adjective ongebruikt (unused), has to be placed before the te + infinitive.
Could I just use a normal conjunction like en instead of the om ... te structure?
Grammatically, yes. You could say en vervolgens ongebruikt blijft (and subsequently remains unused). However, using the om vervolgens ... te structure is a stylistic choice that creates a much stronger sense of narrative contrast or disappointment about the product gathering dust.
Learn Het product belandt in de hoek, om vervolgens ongebruikt te blijven 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