Breakdown of We stoppen het vlees in de vriezer zodat het langer vers blijft.
wij
we
in
in
het
it
vers
fresh
zodat
so that
blijven
to stay
langer
longer
stoppen
to put
het vlees
the meat
de vriezer
the freezer
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Questions & Answers about We stoppen het vlees in de vriezer zodat het langer vers blijft.
What does stoppen mean in this sentence, and how does it differ from leggen, zetten, or doen?
Here stoppen literally means “to put into (something)”, emphasizing placing an object inside an enclosed space.
- leggen = “to lay” (usually on a surface)
- zetten = “to set/put” (often upright or positioned)
- doen = “to do/to put” (very general; colloquially you could say we doen het vlees in de vriezer and it would sound perfectly natural)
Why is zodat used here? How is it different from om… te or omdat?
- zodat = “so that” (introduces a purpose/result clause; verb goes to the end)
- om … te = also expresses purpose but uses an infinitive phrase, e.g. om het vlees langer vers te houden
- omdat = “because” (gives a reason, not a goal)
Why is the verb blijft at the end of the subordinate clause?
Because zodat is a subordinating conjunction in Dutch. In subordinate clauses, the finite verb moves to the very end:
… zodat het langer vers blijft.
Why is het used twice in het vlees … zodat het langer vers blijft? Are they referring to the same thing?
Yes:
- The first het is the definite article for vlees (a neuter noun).
- The second het is the subject pronoun replacing het vlees in the subordinate clause.
Why do we say in de vriezer and not op de vriezer or naar de vriezer?
- in = inside an enclosed space (correct for freezers)
- op = on top of a surface
- naar = towards/motion to
Since you place the meat into the interior of the freezer, you use in.
What’s the word order rule for langer vers in zodat het langer vers blijft?
When you have an adverb plus adjective in a predicate, the adverb (langer) precedes the adjective (vers):
het blijft langer vers = “it stays fresh for longer.”
Could I rewrite this sentence with om… te instead of zodat? If so, how?
Yes. You can say:
We stoppen het vlees in de vriezer om het langer vers te houden.
Here om… te houden replaces the zodat clause, and the infinitive phrase goes at the end.
Can we use houden instead of blijven to talk about freshness? What’s the difference?
- blijven = “to remain” or “to stay” (describes something continuing in its current state)
- houden = “to keep” (a transitive verb; you actively maintain that state)
Both are correct for freshness, but the constructions differ:
• blijven → zodat het langer vers blijft
• houden → om het langer vers te houden