Je mag hooguit twee boeken lenen.

You may borrow at most two books.

Breakdown of Je mag hooguit twee boeken lenen.

• het boek: the book
• je: you
• mogen: may
• twee: two
• lenen: to borrow
• hooguit: at most

Questions & Answers about Je mag hooguit twee boeken lenen.

What does mag mean in this sentence?

mag is a modal verb meaning “may” or “are allowed to.” It expresses permission. If you said Je kan hooguit twee boeken lenen, you’d be talking about ability (“can”), not permission.

Why is lenen at the end of the sentence?

In Dutch main clauses with a modal verb, the finite verb (mag) is in second position, and the infinitive (lenen) goes to the end. The structure is: Subject – finite verb – objects/adverbials – infinitive.

What exactly does hooguit mean, and can I replace it with another word?

hooguit means “at most” or “no more than.” You can also say maximaal, ten hoogste, or op zijn hoogst. All of these convey the same ceiling on quantity:
• Je mag maximaal twee boeken lenen.
• Je mag ten hoogste twee boeken lenen.

Can I remove hooguit and still make sense?

Yes, Je mag twee boeken lenen is a correct sentence, but then it simply states “you may borrow two books” (as a fact) without emphasizing “at most.” Adding hooguit clarifies that you cannot borrow more.

Why is je used instead of jij?

je is the unstressed, informal subject pronoun (“you”). In spoken and most written Dutch, je is far more common than the stressed jij, which you might use for emphasis:
• Jij mag hooguit twee boeken lenen (puts extra focus on “you,” as opposed to someone else).

Why is boeken plural?

Because the number twee (two) requires a plural noun. If you were borrowing one book, you’d say Je mag hooguit één boek lenen.

Can I move hooguit to the front of the sentence?

Yes, for emphasis:
Hooguit mag je twee boeken lenen.
This highlights the “at most” constraint. The meaning stays the same, but the emphasis shifts to hooguit.

What’s the difference between lenen and uitlenen?

• lenen (to borrow): you receive something temporarily.
– Ik leen een boek van de bibliotheek.
• uitlenen (to lend): you give something temporarily.
– De bibliotheek leent boeken uit.

Since je is the borrower, we use lenen here.

Could I use kunnen instead of mag to sound more casual?

You could say Je kunt twee boeken lenen, but that shifts the focus to your ability (can you physically do it?) rather than permission. In a library context, mag is the correct choice to talk about the rules.

Is the word order always Subject–Verb–Adverb–Object–Infinitive?

Not always. Dutch word order can vary for emphasis or style, but with modals in a neutral main clause you’ll commonly see:
Subject – finite verb – adverbial or object – infinitive.
In our case: Je (subject) – mag (verb) – hooguit twee boeken (adverbial + object) – lenen (infinitive).