Learn Hardcore Dutch: Jij hoeft de bevestiging niet te printen; een digitale versie is voldoende. - You don’t have to print the confirmation; a digital version is sufficient.

hoeven is a modal verb that, in a negative construction with niet te + infinitive, expresses don’t have to or need not. Conjugated for jij it becomes hoeft, so jij hoeft niet te printen means you don’t have to print. moeten also means must/have to, but its negative (je moet niet printen) usually sounds like you must not print (prohibition), not merely lack of necessity.

Why is niet placed before te printen rather than immediately after hoeft?

In Dutch, when negating an infinitive after a modal verb, niet goes directly before the te + infinitive. So the structure is hoeft … niet te printen. Placing niet earlier (for example hoeft niet de bevestiging te printen) shifts the focus or can sound slightly odd. The most neutral way to negate the action is niet te + infinitive at the end.

Why does the infinitive printen appear at the very end of the sentence?

In Dutch main clauses with modal or auxiliary verbs (here hoeft), the infinitive (with te) is pushed to the end. This verb‑final order is standard for any construction containing a main verb plus infinitive.

Why use jij instead of je? Are they interchangeable?

je is the unstressed, more neutral form of you, while jij is the stressed or emphatic form. In everyday speech and writing je is more common unless you specifically want to emphasize you as opposed to someone else.

Why is there a semicolon between the two clauses? Could I use a comma or want instead?

A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. You could also write two separate sentences (Jij hoeft de bevestiging niet te printen. Een digitale versie is voldoende.) or use want to join them (Jij hoeft de bevestiging niet te printen, want een digitale versie is voldoende). Using a comma alone would create a comma splice in formal writing.

What does de bevestiging mean, and why is it a “de”-word?

bevestiging means confirmation. Nouns ending in -ing in Dutch are almost always feminine, so they take de (not het). Hence de bevestiging.

What does voldoende mean, and why does it follow the noun instead of preceding it?

voldoende means sufficient or enough. In this sentence it’s used predicatively after the verb is (een digitale versie is voldoende = a digital version is sufficient). In Dutch predicative adjectives follow the verb. If you wanted to use voldoende attributively (before a noun), you’d say een voldoende digitale versie, but that changes the nuance.

Why is the indefinite article een used with digitale versie? Could it be omitted?

In Dutch, singular common nouns require an article: de for definite and een for indefinite. You can’t say digitale versie is voldoende on its own. To speak of any single, unspecified version, you need een digitale versie.

Could I use genoeg instead of voldoende? Is there a difference?

Yes. genoeg also means enough and is more colloquial, so een digitale versie is genoeg works in everyday speech. voldoende is slightly more formal or neutral. Both are predicative and come after is.

How would I replace de bevestiging with a pronoun to say “You don’t have to print it”?

Since bevestiging is a de-word, you use hem (or colloquially 'm). For example: Je hoeft hem niet te printen; een digitale versie is voldoende. You can also use the demonstrative die: Je hoeft die niet te printen.