Breakdown of Tom laat zijn rekenmachine repareren, omdat een toets niet werkt.
Tom
Tom
niet
not
zijn
his
werken
to work
omdat
because
een
a, an
de rekenmachine
the calculator
laten repareren
to have something repaired
de toets
the key
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Questions & Answers about Tom laat zijn rekenmachine repareren, omdat een toets niet werkt.
Why does the sentence use Tom laat zijn rekenmachine repareren instead of Tom repareert zijn rekenmachine?
Because Tom laat zijn rekenmachine repareren means “Tom has his calculator repaired” (he arranges for someone else to fix it), whereas Tom repareert zijn rekenmachine would mean “Tom repairs his calculator himself.”
How does the causative construction with laten work in Dutch?
In Dutch you form a causative by using laten + infinitive. The subject (Tom) is the one who causes or requests the action, and someone else performs the infinitive verb:
Subject + laten + object + infinitive
Tom laat zijn rekenmachine repareren
= “Tom has his calculator repaired.”
Why is werkt placed at the end in omdat een toets niet werkt?
Because omdat is a subordinating conjunction. In Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by words like omdat, the finite verb moves to the end of the clause.
What does toets mean in this context?
Here toets means “key” (as in a button on the calculator). It does not mean “test/exam” in this sentence.
Could you use de toets instead of een toets here?
Yes, if you are talking about a specific key known to both speaker and listener, you could say de toets. But een toets is used when you mean “a (some) key” without specifying which one.
Why is there a comma before omdat?
In Dutch you normally separate the main clause and the subordinate clause with a comma when the subordinate clause follows. Here, the comma marks the boundary before omdat.
Can you use want instead of omdat in this sentence?
Yes, you can say Tom laat zijn rekenmachine repareren, want een toets werkt niet. But want is a coordinating conjunction, so it does not trigger the verb-final word order. With want the order stays Subject-Verb-Object.