Breakdown of Na het adres slaat u rechts af.
het adres
the address
afslaan
to turn (change direction on a road)
rechts
right / on the right
Questions & Answers about Na het adres slaat u rechts af.
Why is the word order slaat u instead of u slaat?
Because the sentence starts with the phrase na het adres (after the address). In Dutch, whenever you start a main clause with something other than the subject, the verb and subject swap places. This is called inversion, which is why u slaat becomes slaat u.
Where does the word af at the end of the sentence come from?
It is the prefix of the separable verb afslaan, which means 'to turn' (when navigating traffic). In Dutch, the prefix of a separable verb detaches and moves to the very end of the sentence, while the main verb (slaat) stays in the second position.
Doesn't slaan mean 'to hit'? Can I just say slaat u rechts without the af?
By itself, slaan does usually mean 'to hit'! That is exactly why you cannot leave out the af. Without it, slaat u rechts sounds like 'you hit right'. To mean 'turn', you must use the full separable verb afslaan.
Since this lesson is about heen and naartoe, why aren't they used here to show direction?
Words like heen and naartoe are used to emphasize motion towards a destination. However, the verb afslaan inherently describes a change of direction in traffic. When you pair it with a simple direction like rechts (right) or links (left), the directional meaning is already complete, so adding heen or naartoe isn't necessary.
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