Wilt u mijn advies horen voordat u een beslissing neemt?

to want

Breakdown of Wilt u mijn advies horen voordat u een beslissing neemt?

• mijn: my
• nemen: to take
• voordat: before
• een: a, an
• horen: to hear
• u: you
• het advies: the advice
• de beslissing: the decision

Questions & Answers about Wilt u mijn advies horen voordat u een beslissing neemt?

What does Wilt u mean, and why is the subject u placed after the verb?

Wilt u translates to "Would you" in English. In Dutch questions—especially formal ones—the finite modal verb wilt appears first, followed by the subject u. The use of u indicates that the sentence is written in a formal register, addressing the listener respectfully.

What does mijn advies mean in this sentence?

Mijn advies literally means "my advice." Here, mijn is the possessive pronoun "my" and advies is the noun "advice." Although advies is uncountable in Dutch, it works just like the English uncountable noun "advice."

Why is the verb horen in its infinitive form, rather than being conjugated?

In Dutch, when a modal verb (here, wilt) is used, it is common to follow it with another verb in the infinitive form. Horen means "to hear" and remains unaltered because the modal verb already carries the meaning of desire or intention. This construction is similar to English phrases like "would you like to hear" where hear remains in the base form.

What role does the conjunction voordat play in the sentence?

Voordat means "before" and introduces a subordinate clause that specifies the time frame. In this sentence, it sets up the condition that the advice should be heard prior to making a decision.

Why is the finite verb neemt placed at the end of the clause "voordat u een beslissing neemt"?

In Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by temporal or subordinating conjunctions like voordat, the conjugated verb is typically placed at the end of the clause. Here, neemt (the conjugated form of nemen for u) appears at the end, adhering to Dutch word order rules in subordinate clauses.

Is the sentence formal or informal, and what clues indicate this?

The sentence is formal. The use of u—the formal you—indicates a respectful tone. Informal speech would generally use je instead of u.