Breakdown of Hij zal een paraplu meebrengen, zodat we droog blijven.
hij
he
wij
we
zodat
so that
zullen
will
blijven
to stay
een
a, an
de paraplu
the umbrella
droog
dry
meebrengen
to bring along
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Questions & Answers about Hij zal een paraplu meebrengen, zodat we droog blijven.
Why is zal used in Hij zal een paraplu meebrengen? Can’t we just say Hij brengt een paraplu mee for future meaning?
Zal is the auxiliary verb that marks the future tense in Dutch. It tells us “he will bring” (at a later time). Hij brengt een paraplu mee is present tense (“he brings an umbrella along”) and can sometimes imply near future in informal speech, but using zal makes the future time frame explicit and unambiguous.
What does the prefix mee add to brengen, and why does it stay attached in meebrengen here?
Brengen means “to bring.” The separable prefix mee adds the notion “along,” so meebrengen means “to bring along/to bring with oneself.”
- In a main clause without an auxiliary, the verb splits and you say: Hij brengt een paraplu mee.
- After an auxiliary like zal, you use the full infinitive, so the prefix cannot split and you get meebrengen.
Why is there an indefinite article een before paraplu instead of the definite article de paraplu?
Een is the indefinite article (“an umbrella”), used when the speaker refers to any umbrella, not a specific one. If you were talking about a particular umbrella known to both speaker and listener, you’d use the definite article:
Hij zal de paraplu meebrengen (“He will bring the umbrella [we already talked about]”).
Why is the verb blijven at the very end in zodat we droog blijven?
Zodat is a subordinating conjunction meaning “so that.” In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb moves to the end. Hence blijven (“stay”) appears as the last element in the clause.
Could we use om droog te blijven instead of zodat we droog blijven?
Yes. Dutch offers two common ways to express purpose:
- Om
- infinitive: Hij zal een paraplu meebrengen om droog te blijven.
- Zodat
- clause: Hij zal een paraplu meebrengen zodat we droog blijven.
The om…te construction is more compact but doesn’t repeat the subject, whereas zodat introduces a full clause with its own subject and verb.
- clause: Hij zal een paraplu meebrengen zodat we droog blijven.
Is zodat written as one word, or can it be zo dat?
In modern Dutch it’s always one word: zodat. It originated from the phrase zo dat, but current spelling rules require the single-word conjunction.
Can we say wij instead of we in zodat we droog blijven?
Yes. Wij and we are both subject pronouns for “we.” We is more colloquial and very common in speech; wij is slightly more formal or emphatic, often used for stress or in writing.
Why use blijven (“stay”) instead of zijn (“be”) in droog blijven? Could we say droog zijn?
Using blijven emphasizes continuation of the dry state (“stay dry”). Droog zijn (“be dry”) is grammatically correct and understandable, but in purpose/result clauses Dutch speakers usually prefer blijven to highlight maintaining that state over time.