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Breakdown of Mijn zus wast zich voor het feest, terwijl ik me aankleed en geniet van de muziek.
ik
I
en
and
voor
for
de muziek
the music
terwijl
while
mijn
my
de zus
the sister
het feest
the party
wassen
to wash
zich
herself
aankleden
to get dressed
genieten van
to enjoy
Questions & Answers about Mijn zus wast zich voor het feest, terwijl ik me aankleed en geniet van de muziek.
Why do we say wast zich instead of just wast?
In Dutch, some verbs are reflexive, meaning the action is done by the subject to themselves. In this sentence, wast zich indicates that your sister is washing herself. Using just wast without a reflexive pronoun would mean she is washing someone or something else.
Why do we use zich for "my sister" but me for "I"?
Reflexive pronouns in Dutch agree with the subject. For ik (I), the reflexive pronoun is me (short for mij). For hij/zij (he/she) or in this case mijn zus (my sister), the reflexive pronoun is zich. So, you say ik kleed me aan (I get myself dressed), and mijn zus wast zich (my sister washes herself).
How does terwijl affect word order in the second clause?
Terwijl is a subordinating conjunction in Dutch. It introduces a dependent clause and sends the verb(s) in that clause to the end, or near the end, of the sentence. In the phrase terwijl ik me aankleed en geniet van de muziek, the verbs (aankleed and geniet) appear after the subject and its reflexive pronoun, which is a typical word order in a Dutch subordinate clause.
Should I say geniet van or just geniet?
In Dutch, the verb genieten (to enjoy) almost always requires the preposition van when referring to what is being enjoyed. So you say genieten van de muziek, which translates literally to "enjoy from the music," but in English it simply means "to enjoy the music."
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