Breakdown of Zonder bankpas kan hij het geld niet opnemen.
niet
not
hij
he
kunnen
can
het geld
the money
zonder
without
de bankpas
the debit card
opnemen
to withdraw
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Questions & Answers about Zonder bankpas kan hij het geld niet opnemen.
What does zonder mean in this sentence?
zonder is a preposition meaning “without.” It introduces what is missing or lacking. Here it tells us that “without a bank card” he cannot withdraw money.
Why is there no article before bankpas (e.g. “a bank card”)?
After zonder, Dutch often drops the indefinite article. You can say zonder een bankpas, but it’s more natural to omit een: zonder bankpas.
Why is the word order Zonder bankpas kan hij… instead of Zonder bankpas hij kan…?
Dutch follows the “V2” (verb‐second) rule in main clauses. Whatever you put first (here the prepositional phrase Zonder bankpas), the finite verb must come directly after, then the subject. Hence kan hij.
Why does opnemen appear at the end of the sentence?
When you use a modal verb like kan, the main verb (including separable prefixes) moves to the clause end. So the separable verb opnemen stays together and drops to the end: het geld niet opnemen.
Where does the separable prefix op- go in other contexts?
In a simple main clause without a modal, the verb is in second position and the prefix goes to the very end.
Example: Hij neemt het geld op.
With a modal (kunnen), you keep opnemen together at the sentence end.
Why is niet placed before opnemen and not somewhere else?
Dutch places niet immediately before (or after) the element it negates. Here we negate the action “withdraw the money,” so niet comes right before opnemen: het geld niet opnemen.
Why does the sentence use het geld and not just geld?
geld is a neuter noun. Using the definite article het makes it specific (“the money” in the ATM). If you drop het, it sounds more general (“money” in a broad sense), which is less idiomatic here.
Could you say zonder een bankpas or zonder zijn bankpas instead?
Yes. zonder een bankpas (“without a bank card”) is correct but a bit wordier.
zonder zijn bankpas (“without his bank card”) specifies whose card it is; use that if context demands.
Is geld opnemen the only way to say “withdraw money”?
Geld opnemen is the standard term for using an ATM. Informally you might also hear pinnen (from PIN-kaart), especially in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Why is kan used instead of kunnen?
kan is simply the 3rd-person singular present tense of the modal verb kunnen. You always conjugate the modal to agree with the subject (hij kan, ik kan, wij kunnen, etc.).