Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Zij struikelde expres om ons te laten lachen.
Why is 'to make us laugh' translated with laten instead of maken?
In Dutch, when you cause someone to perform an action, you use the causative verb laten, never maken. Using maken here is a classic direct-translation mistake. You generally only use maken when physically creating something, or with an adjective, such as iemand blij maken (to make someone happy).
In the phrase om ons te laten lachen, why does te go before laten instead of lachen?
In an om ... te (in order to) structure with multiple verbs at the end of the clause, the word te must be placed immediately before the first verb of the verb cluster. Here, the verb cluster is laten lachen, so te is placed right before laten.
Is the word expres the same as the English word 'express'?
They share a root, but in everyday Dutch, the adverb expres specifically means 'on purpose' or 'intentionally'. At this level, you will also frequently encounter its synonym opzettelijk.
If I wanted to use the present perfect tense instead of the simple past, would it be heeft gestruikeld or is gestruikeld?