Ik vraag de conciërge of hij de deur wil openen, omdat ik mijn sleutel ben vergeten.

I

Breakdown of Ik vraag de conciërge of hij de deur wil openen, omdat ik mijn sleutel ben vergeten.

• zijn: to be
• hij: he
• de deur: the door
• willen: to want
• mijn: my
• vergeten: to forget
• de sleutel: the key
• omdat: because
• openen: to open
• de conciërge: the caretaker
• vragen: to ask
• of: if

Questions & Answers about Ik vraag de conciërge of hij de deur wil openen, omdat ik mijn sleutel ben vergeten.

What does conciërge mean in this sentence?

Conciërge means “concierge” or “caretaker.” It refers to the person responsible for looking after a building—for example, the doorman or facility manager.

Why is the word of used in this sentence, and what does it signify?

In this context, of introduces an indirect yes–no question. It serves the same function as “if” or “whether” in English, connecting the main clause ("Ik vraag de conciërge") with the clause that explains what is being asked ("hij de deur wil openen").

Why isn’t there a subject–verb inversion in the clause of hij de deur wil openen?

In Dutch, direct questions require inversion (e.g., “Wil hij de deur openen?”). However, when a question is embedded in a larger sentence—as an indirect question introduced by of—the normal subject–verb order is maintained. That’s why it appears as “hij de deur wil openen” without inversion.

What is the structure of wil openen, and why is this modal construction used?

Wil openen is a modal verb construction. Wil is the conjugated form of willen (meaning “to want” or “to be willing to”), and openen is the infinitive form meaning “to open.” Together, they express the idea that the speaker is asking if the concierge is willing to open the door.

What is the role of the clause omdat ik mijn sleutel ben vergeten in the sentence?

This clause explains the reason behind the main action. Introduced by omdat (meaning “because”), it provides the cause—namely, that the speaker forgot their key—that justifies asking the concierge to open the door.

Why is the perfect tense formed as ben vergeten instead of using heb vergeten?

While many transitive verbs in Dutch typically take hebben as an auxiliary in the perfect tense, some verbs may use zijn instead—often reflecting regional or stylistic variations or emphasizing the resulting state. In this sentence, ben vergeten is used, highlighting that the state of having forgotten the key is the reason for the request. Note that you might encounter heb vergeten in other contexts, and both forms can be acceptable depending on usage and dialect.