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Breakdown of Anna trekt haar regenjas aan, want er drijven donkere wolken over het dorpsplein.
Anna
Anna
want
because
er
there
haar
her
donker
dark
aantrekken
to put on
de regenjas
the raincoat
drijven
to drift
de wolk
the cloud
over
over
het dorpsplein
the village square
Questions & Answers about Anna trekt haar regenjas aan, want er drijven donkere wolken over het dorpsplein.
What does trekt … aan mean in this sentence?
It’s the separable verb aantrekken, meaning to put on (an item of clothing). In a main clause the verb stem trekt stays in second position and the particle aan moves to the end.
Why is aan at the end of the clause?
In Dutch, separable verbs split in main clauses: you place the verb stem (trekt) in position 2 and put the prefix or particle (aan) at the very end.
Why is want used here instead of omdat, and how does it affect word order?
want is a coordinating conjunction meaning because or for, and it connects two full main clauses without changing their internal word order. If you used omdat (a subordinating conjunction), the verb would move to the end of its clause.
What does drijven mean in er drijven donkere wolken?
Here drijven means to drift or to float. It describes how the dark clouds are moving slowly across or above the village square.
Why is there an er before drijven donkere wolken?
er is a dummy or expletive subject. Dutch requires something before the verb in second position. When the real subject (donkere wolken) comes later, er fills the first slot.
Why does donkere have an -e ending?
Because wolken is a plural noun with the definite article de (“de wolken”), adjectives in front of de-words take a strong inflection and get -e.
What does over het dorpsplein translate to here?
over in this context means across or over (above), so over het dorpsplein means across the village square.
What does haar indicate in haar regenjas?
haar is the possessive pronoun her, showing that the raincoat belongs to Anna. In Dutch, haar is used for “her” regardless of the gender or number of what’s possessed.
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