Questions & Answers about Ik ben ziek, want ik heb griep.
Does the word want change the word order in the second part of the sentence?
No, and that is what makes want so easy to use! It is a coordinating conjunction, which means it simply glues two normal sentences together. The word order in ik heb griep stays exactly the same as if it were a standalone sentence.
I learned that omdat also means "because". Can I use it instead of want here?
You can, but it would change the grammar. While want keeps the normal word order, omdat pushes the verb to the very end of the clause. So if you use omdat, the sentence becomes: Ik ben ziek, omdat ik griep heb. Stick with want for now to keep things simple!
The English translation says "the flu". Why is there no de before griep?
Do I always need to put a comma before want?
Yes! In Dutch, it is a strict punctuation rule to always place a comma before want when you use it to connect two sentences.
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