Breakdown of Ik neem een pauze om water te drinken.
ik
I
drinken
to drink
het water
the water
om
for
nemen
to take
de pauze
the break
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Questions & Answers about Ik neem een pauze om water te drinken.
What is the function of the om... te construction in this sentence?
The om... te construction expresses purpose. In this sentence, it indicates that the reason for taking a break is to drink water—essentially saying "in order to drink water."
Why is the infinitive drinken placed at the end of the sentence?
In Dutch, subordinate clauses (including purpose clauses) typically place the infinitive at the end. Here, te drinken follows the pattern where te is used with the base form of the verb, and the whole infinitive phrase comes after the main clause.
Why is the indefinite article een used before pauze?
The word een is the Dutch equivalent of the English indefinite article "a." It is used here with the noun pauze (meaning "break") to indicate that the speaker is taking a single, unspecified break.
Why isn’t there an article before water?
Much like in English, when referring to an uncountable noun such as water in a general sense, no article is needed. The sentence treats water as a substance rather than a countable item.
What is the overall sentence structure in Ik neem een pauze om water te drinken?
The sentence begins with the main clause, Ik neem een pauze ("I take a break"), followed by a purpose clause, om water te drinken ("to drink water"). This structure, with the subordinate clause at the end, is typical in Dutch when expressing the purpose behind an action.