Een gewoonte helpt je beter te leren.

A habit helps you learn better.

Breakdown of Een gewoonte helpt je beter te leren.

• leren: to learn
• beter: better
• je: you
• een: a, an
• helpen: to help
• de gewoonte: the habit

Questions & Answers about Een gewoonte helpt je beter te leren.

What does een mean in this sentence?

Een is the indefinite article in Dutch, equivalent to a or an in English. Here it introduces gewoonte as “a habit” without specifying which one.

Is gewoonte a masculine or feminine noun?

Gewoonte (meaning “habit”) is considered a feminine noun in Dutch. However, with the indefinite article you always use een, so you don’t see a difference. For the definite article you’d say de gewoonte.

Why is the verb helpt ending with -t?

The infinitive is helpen (“to help”). When you conjugate for third-person singular (he/she/it or any singular noun like een gewoonte), you drop the -en and add -t:
– Infinitive: helpen
– Hij/zij/het helpt
So een gewoonte helpt follows that same pattern.

What does je refer to, and why not jou?

Je is the unstressed object pronoun for jij (“you”). As a direct or indirect object in ordinary speech, you use je. You reserve jou mainly for emphasis or after prepositions (e.g. voor jou). So helpt je means “helps you” in a neutral, unstressed way.

How does the te + infinitive construction work here?

In Dutch, certain verbs (like helpen) are followed by te + infinitive to express purpose or result, similar to English “to learn.” So helpt je beter te leren literally is “helps you better to learn.” The pattern is:
Subject + helpt + object + adverb + te + infinitive

Why is there no om before beter te leren?

With verbs like helpen, the om is optional and often omitted. Both are possible:
– Helpt je beter te leren.
– Helpt je om beter te leren.
Leaving out om is slightly more concise and very common in everyday Dutch.

Why is beter placed before te leren?

Adverbs of manner (like beter) usually precede the te + infinitive form they modify. Putting beter after leren (i.e. te leren beter) would sound ungrammatical in Dutch.

Could you say Een gewoonte helpt je leren beter or drop the te?

No. You cannot drop te, and you must keep the adverb before the infinitive. The correct order is beter te leren. So Een gewoonte helpt je leren beter or helpt je leren beter would both be incorrect in Dutch.