Breakdown of Tom weigert een appartement in het centrum te zoeken, omdat hij tevreden is met zijn huidige plek.
zijn
to be
Tom
Tom
hij
he
in
in
met
with
zijn
his
omdat
because
zoeken
to look for
het appartement
the apartment
weigeren
to refuse
het centrum
the center
tevreden
satisfied
huidig
current
de plek
the place
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Questions & Answers about Tom weigert een appartement in het centrum te zoeken, omdat hij tevreden is met zijn huidige plek.
What is the function of the word te in the phrase te zoeken?
In Dutch, certain verbs require an infinitive complement introduced by te. In this sentence, "Tom weigert een appartement in het centrum te zoeken" means that Tom refuses to search for an apartment. The te before zoeken is equivalent to the English to in the infinitive form, making it a necessary part of the construction after a verb like weigeren (to refuse).
Why is there a comma before omdat in the sentence?
Dutch punctuation rules often call for a comma before subordinate clauses that begin with conjunctions such as omdat (because). In our sentence, the comma separates the main clause ("Tom weigert een appartement in het centrum te zoeken") from the subordinate causal clause ("omdat hij tevreden is met zijn huidige plek"), clarifying the division between the action and its explanation.
What role does the phrase in het centrum play in this sentence?
The phrase "in het centrum" functions as an adverbial modifier that specifies the location of the apartment. It tells us that the apartment Tom is meant to search for is located in the city center, adding detail to the object of his refusal.
How does the subordinate clause introduced by omdat affect the word order in the sentence?
In Dutch subordinate clauses initiated by a conjunction like omdat, the typical sentence order changes: the subject and other elements come first, and the finite verb is placed at the end. In the clause "omdat hij tevreden is met zijn huidige plek", hij appears early, and is—the finite verb—comes later in the clause. This contrasts with main clauses, where the finite verb typically occupies the second position.
What does zijn huidige plek mean, and is the word plek formal or informal?
The expression "zijn huidige plek" translates to "his current place." Here, huidige means current, and plek typically refers to a place or home in a more informal sense. In casual conversation, plek is commonly used to denote where one lives, whereas more formal texts might prefer words like woning or huis.