Learn Hardcore Dutch: Deze oefening helpt ons effectief te leren. - This exercise helps us learn effectively.

In Dutch, when you link a second verb to a catenative verb like helpen, you normally insert te before the infinitive. It’s similar to English “helps to learn.” The pattern is: helpen + object pronoun + te + infinitive.

Why is effectief unchanged (no -lijk) when used adverbially?

Many Dutch adjectives double as adverbs without adding -lijk (the equivalent of English “-ly”). So effectief works both as “effective” (adj.) and “effectively” (adv.). You don’t need to form effectieflijk.

Why do we say de oefening instead of het oefening?

All Dutch nouns ending in -ing are common-gender (formerly feminine), so they take the definite article de, never het. Hence de oefening (“the exercise”).

Why is ons used instead of we or onze?

ons is the object pronoun for “us.” Since helpen takes a direct object, you need ons. By contrast, we is the subject pronoun “we,” and onze is a possessive adjective (“our”).

Can helpen ever be followed by a bare infinitive (without te)?

In very concrete, physical contexts (like carrying furniture), you sometimes hear a bare infinitive: Hij helpt me de tafel dragen (“He helps me carry the table”). But with abstract actions such as leren, the standard construction is helpen + object + te + infinitive.

Can we add om as in helpt ons om effectief te leren?

Yes, you can optionally insert om (“in order to”) and say helpt ons om effectief te leren, but it’s not required. The more direct, idiomatic form with te alone is helpt ons effectief te leren.

Why doesn’t this sentence include dat or a comma before effectief or te leren?

It isn’t a subordinate clause with its own subject and finite verb, so you don’t use dat or a comma. It’s a single main clause plus an infinitive clause (introduced by te), which stays integrated without dat.

How is oefening pronounced, especially the oe and the final e?

The Dutch oe is pronounced [u] (like English “oo” in “food”).
The final -ing is [ɪŋ], and the “e” in oefening is a reduced vowel (schwa [ə]).
Put together, oefening sounds roughly like [ˈu-fə-nɪŋ].

Why is helpt spelled with a t at the end?

In the present tense of helpen the third-person singular (hij, zij, het) always adds -t:
ik help – hij helpt – wij helpen.

Why isn’t leren conjugated (it stays in the infinitive) instead of showing person or tense?

In any te-infinitive clause, the verb remains in its base (infinitive) form regardless of the subject or the tense of the main clause. That’s why you write te leren, not te leert or similar.