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Tom bewaart zijn treinkaart in zijn jaszak, zodat hij het station snel kan verlaten.

Tom bewaart zijn treinkaart in zijn jaszak, zodat hij het station snel kan verlaten.
Tom keeps his train ticket in his jacket pocket so that he can leave the station quickly.
FromLesson 20inHardcore Dutch

Breakdown of Tom bewaart zijn treinkaart in zijn jaszak, zodat hij het station snel kan verlaten.

Tom
Tom
hij
he
in
in
zijn
his
zodat
so that
kunnen
can
snel
quickly
bewaren
to keep
verlaten
to leave
de jaszak
the jacket pocket
het station
the station

Questions & Answers about Tom bewaart zijn treinkaart in zijn jaszak, zodat hij het station snel kan verlaten.

What does bewaart mean, and what is its infinitive?
bewaart is the third-person singular present tense of the verb bewaren, which means to keep or to store.
Why is treinkaart one word instead of trein kaart?
Dutch forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word. Here trein (train) + kaart (ticket) combine into treinkaart.
Why is it het station and not de station?
Station is a neuter noun in Dutch, so it takes the definite article het. Many nouns ending in -ion are neuter.
Why do we use zijn twice in zijn treinkaart and zijn jaszak? Can we drop one?
Each noun needs its own determiner. Zijn means his, so zijn treinkaart = his train ticket and zijn jaszak = his jacket pocket. Dropping one would make the sentence ungrammatical or ambiguous.
What role does zodat play, and how is it different from om… te?

Zodat introduces a subordinate clause expressing purpose or result (so that). It is followed by a finite verb cluster at the clause’s end. Om… te also expresses purpose but uses an infinitive:
– Met zodat: …zodat hij het station snel kan verlaten.
– Met om… te: …om het station snel te verlaten.

Why are kan and verlaten at the end of the clause following zodat?
In Dutch subordinate clauses (introduced by words like zodat), all verbs—including auxiliaries and modals—move to the very end, forming a verb cluster.
Could we place the adverb snel elsewhere in the subordinate clause?

Yes. Dutch word order in subordinate clauses is fairly flexible. You can say:
– zodat hij snel het station kan verlaten
– zodat hij het station snel kan verlaten
as long as the verb cluster (kan verlaten) stays at the end.

Why is jaszak one word, and are all pocket-related words compounds?
Jaszak combines jas (jacket) and zak (pocket) into a single noun. Dutch frequently forms compounds this way. Other examples: broekzak (trouser pocket), zaklamp (flashlight).
How would you rewrite the sentence in the past tense?

Change the present-tense bewaart to past-tense bewaarde, and kan to kon:
Tom bewaarde zijn treinkaart in zijn jaszak, zodat hij het station snel kon verlaten.

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