Breakdown of De vertraging geeft ons de kans om rustig koffie te drinken.
drinken
to drink
om
for
de koffie
the coffee
rustig
calmly
geven
to give
ons
us
de kans
the chance
de vertraging
the delay
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Questions & Answers about De vertraging geeft ons de kans om rustig koffie te drinken.
Why is it De vertraging and not Een vertraging?
In Dutch you can use both de vertraging (the delay) and een vertraging (a delay). Here the speaker refers to a specific delay that everyone has noticed (for example, the train is late), so they use the definite article de. If you were just talking in general about “a delay,” you would say een vertraging.
Why is the verb geeft and not geven?
Dutch verbs agree with their subjects. De vertraging is third‑person singular, so you add -t to the stem geef → geeft. If the subject were wij (we), you would say wij geven instead.
What is the role of om and te in om rustig koffie te drinken?
Om … te introduces an infinitive clause that expresses purpose: “in order to drink coffee calmly.”
– om marks the beginning of this subordinate clause.
– te goes right before the infinitive (drinken).
English has “to drink,” Dutch splits it into om + te + infinitive.
Why is drinken at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch subordinate clauses (including infinitive clauses with om … te), the finite verb (here te drinken) goes to the end. That’s why drinken appears after om and rustig koffie.
Why is there no article before koffie? Why not de koffie or een koffie?
When Dutch speakers talk about doing an activity in general — like “drinking coffee” — they often leave out the article. It’s similar to how you say “go jogging” rather than “go the jogging.” If you meant “a specific cup of coffee,” you could say een kop koffie (a cup of coffee).
What does rustig modify here? Is it an adjective or an adverb?
Rustig is an adverb modifying drinken (“to drink in a calm/relaxed way”). Adverbs in Dutch do not take an -e ending, so it stays as rustig and not rustige.
Why is it kans om and not kans op in this sentence?
– Use kans op + noun (“chance of something”): kans op vertraging, kans op winst.
– Use kans om + te ‑infinitive (“chance to do something”): kans om rustig koffie te drinken, kans om te oefenen.
Why is the object pronoun ons used instead of we (wij)?
Ons is the object form for “us.” The delay is giving something to us, so it needs the object pronoun ons, not the subject pronoun wij.
Could I reorder rustig koffie as koffie rustig in the infinitive clause?
No, Dutch prefers adverbs like rustig before the direct object koffie in an infinitive clause with om … te. Om rustig koffie te drinken is natural; om koffie rustig te drinken sounds awkward.