Learn Hardcore Dutch: Jij maakt een verstandige keuze door binnen te blijven tijdens onweer. - You make a sensible choice by staying indoors during a thunderstorm.

In Dutch, jij is the full, stressed form of the second-person singular pronoun, whereas je is the unstressed form. Both pair with the same verb ending: when the subject is jij (or je) and it’s not inverted in a question, the verb in the present tense takes -t. That’s why you say jij maakt or je maakt (“you make”). Only when you invert for a question—maak je…?—does the -t drop.

What does verstandige mean, and why does it have an -e ending before keuze?

Verstandig means “sensible” or “wise.” In Dutch, adjectives that stand directly before a singular noun generally get an -e ending when there is an article or other determiner. Here you have een + verstandige + keuze, so the adjective takes -e. If there were no article, you might say verstandig advies (“sensible advice”), but with een keuze you need verstandige.

Why is door binnen te blijven used, and how is it different from om binnen te blijven?

Dutch uses door + infinitive to express the means or cause (“by doing something”). So door binnen te blijven means “by staying inside.” In contrast, om + te + infinitive expresses purpose (“in order to do something”). Saying om binnen te blijven would mean “in order to stay inside,” focusing on your goal rather than the fact that staying inside is the way you’re making a wise choice.

In door binnen te blijven, why does binnen come before te blijven instead of after it?

Binnenblijven is a separable verb (prefix binnen + verb blijven). With a te-infinitive, Dutch places the prefix before te and the main verb after. That yields binnen te blijven. Putting the prefix after the infinitive (like te blijven binnen) would be ungrammatical.

Why is there no article before onweer in tijdens onweer? Would tijdens het onweer also be correct?

After prepositions such as tijdens (“during”), Dutch often drops the article for general or habitual statements: tijdens onweer (“during thunderstorm conditions”). You can add the article for specificity—tijdens het onweer—and it remains correct. Omitting the article simply sounds more natural when you speak of thunderstorm weather in general.

What exactly does onweer mean? Is it thunder, lightning, or something else?

Onweer refers to the meteorological event “thunderstorm”—the combination of thunder (donderen) and lightning (bliksem), often with rain. It’s not just the sound of thunder; it covers the whole storm.

Why does Dutch use een keuze maken (“make a choice”) instead of a single verb like kiezen (“to choose”)?

Both exist in Dutch. Kiezen means “to choose,” so you could say jij kiest verstandig. Using een keuze maken is simply a common collocation—“to make a choice”—and often sounds more explicit or formal. The meaning stays the same, though the style shifts a bit.

How would I make this sentence more polite or formal, for example when speaking to someone older or a stranger?

You can switch jij to the formal pronoun u and keep the rest the same:
U maakt een verstandige keuze door binnen te blijven tijdens onweer.
This shows respect and is appropriate in formal situations.