Learn Hardcore Dutch: Omdat het laat wordt, pakt Tom een zaklamp uit zijn tas. - Because it is getting late, Tom takes a flashlight out of his bag.

Omdat means “because.” It introduces a subordinate clause that gives a reason. In Dutch, once you start a clause with omdat, the finite verb moves to the end of that clause.

Why does the verb wordt come at the end of the clause that starts with omdat?

In Dutch subordinate clauses (clauses introduced by words like omdat, terwijl, als, etc.), the conjugated (finite) verb goes to the very end. Here, the clause is omdat het laat wordt, so wordt stays at the end.

In omdat het laat wordt, why is there het? What is its role?

That het is a dummy subject. It doesn’t refer to anything concrete but is needed because Dutch—like English—requires a subject. Think of it as the “it” in English “it’s getting late.”

After the comma, why does the main clause start with the verb pakt instead of the subject Tom?

Because when a subordinate clause comes first and is followed by a comma, the main clause switches to verb-first (V1) order. So pakt (the verb) jumps to the front, then the subject Tom follows.

Why is pakt separated from uit here? What’s happening with pakt … uit?

The verb in question is the separable verb uitpakken (to take out). In main-clause word order, the prefix uit detaches and moves to the end of the clause, yielding pakt … uit.

Why do we use een zaklamp instead of de zaklamp?

Een is the indefinite article “a”. We use een zaklamp because we’re talking about a flashlight (new, unspecified information). If you had already mentioned a particular flashlight and both speaker and listener knew which one, you’d use de zaklamp (“the flashlight”).

What does uit zijn tas mean, and why do we use uit here?

Uit zijn tas literally means “out of his bag.” The preposition uit here indicates movement from the inside of something to the outside. So Tom takes the flashlight out of his bag.

Why is the possessive zijn used, and could you use any other form?

Zijn is the masculine/neuter third-person singular possessive (“his”), matching Tom (a male person). You cannot use haar (her) or hun (their) unless you change the owner’s gender or number.