Learn Hardcore Dutch: Het is belangrijk om genoeg slaap te krijgen.

This is an infinitive clause. In Dutch, after certain adjectives like belangrijk, you introduce an action with om + te + infinitive. Here om genoeg slaap te krijgen literally means “to get enough sleep,” just like English uses “to ….”

Why is om genoeg slaap te krijgen placed at the end of the sentence?

Dutch main clauses follow the pattern Subject – Finite Verb – Rest. Here:
• Subject: Het
• Finite verb: is
• Adjective: belangrijk
• Then the infinitive clause (om genoeg slaap te krijgen) comes last. Subordinate or non-finite parts almost always go to the end in Dutch.

What does het refer to in Het is belangrijk …?

het is a dummy subject (an expletive “it”) with no concrete meaning, just like English “it” in “It is important to ….” It doesn’t point to a noun previously mentioned.

Why isn’t there an article before slaap? Why not de slaap or een slaap?

slaap here is an uncountable noun meaning the concept or amount of sleep. When you quantify or qualify it with words like genoeg, you drop any article. You never say een slaap for “sleep” in general.

Can I use voldoende slaap instead of genoeg slaap?

Yes. voldoende is a more formal synonym of genoeg. You can say:
Het is belangrijk om voldoende slaap te krijgen.
Both sentences mean “It’s important to get enough sleep,” but voldoende often appears in written or official contexts.

Why do we use krijgen here instead of simply slapen, hebben or nemen?

• genoeg slapen (“to sleep enough”) is possible but shifts focus to the act of sleeping.
• slaap krijgen emphasizes receiving or achieving a certain amount of sleep.
• You don’t use hebben (“to have”) with sleep in Dutch.
• slaap nemen isn’t standard; you’d say een dutje doen for “take a nap.”
So genoeg slaap krijgen is the most idiomatic way to talk about obtaining sufficient sleep.

Can I rephrase this using a dat-clause with a personal subject?

Yes. A common alternative is:
Het is belangrijk dat je genoeg slaap krijgt.
Here dat introduces a subordinate clause, je is the subject, and the word order inside that clause is Subject (je) – Verb (krijgt) – Object/Complement (genoeg slaap).

Is Het is belangrijk om genoeg te slapen also correct?

Yes, it’s grammatically fine. You replace the noun phrase genoeg slaap + te krijgen with the verb slapen directly:
Het is belangrijk om genoeg te slapen.
Nuance: genoeg slaap te krijgen stresses the amount you “get,” while genoeg te slapen stresses doing enough sleeping. In practice both convey the same general idea.