Breakdown of Kinderen mogen alleen oversteken bij het zebrapad.
mogen
may
bij
at
het kind
the child
alleen
only
het zebrapad
the crosswalk
oversteken
to cross
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Questions & Answers about Kinderen mogen alleen oversteken bij het zebrapad.
What does mogen mean in this sentence, and how does it function grammatically?
mogen is a modal verb meaning “to be allowed to” or “may.” Grammatically, it occupies the second position in the main clause (the Verb-2 rule) and takes a bare infinitive (here oversteken) at the end of the clause. So “Kinderen mogen … oversteken” literally means “Children may … cross.”
Why is oversteken used without te after mogen, and is the infinitive always placed at the end of the clause?
After modal verbs (like mogen, kunnen, willen, etc.) Dutch uses the bare infinitive—so you drop te. In main clauses the finite verb (here mogen) goes in position 2 and any infinitive with its objects or prepositional phrases follows at the end. That’s why oversteken (plus bij het zebrapad) comes after the adverb alleen.
Why is alleen placed between mogen and oversteken, and what does it modify?
As an adverb, alleen typically comes right after the finite verb and modifies the element immediately to its right. Here it restricts the action “mogen oversteken,” so it means “may only cross.” If it were placed elsewhere, it could modify a different part of the sentence (see next question).
How would the meaning change if I wrote Alleen kinderen mogen oversteken bij het zebrapad instead of Kinderen mogen alleen oversteken bij het zebrapad?
In Alleen kinderen mogen…, alleen modifies kinderen: “only children may cross at the zebra crossing” (no adults). In Kinderen mogen alleen oversteken…, alleen modifies oversteken/bij het zebrapad: “children may cross only at the zebra crossing” (not elsewhere).
Why do we use bij het zebrapad here instead of op het zebrapad or another preposition?
bij means “at (the vicinity of)” and is the standard preposition for indicating that something happens at a specific location like a crossing. op het zebrapad would literally mean “on the zebra crossing” (the stripes themselves) and is less idiomatic.
Why is it het zebrapad and not de zebrapad?
zebrapad is a compound whose head is pad, which is a neuter noun in Dutch. Neuter nouns take het in the singular. You usually learn the gender together with the noun or check a dictionary.
Why doesn't Kinderen have an article in this sentence, like de kinderen?
Without an article, Kinderen refers to children in general (generic plural). If you meant specific children you’d use de kinderen (“the children”). Here the rule applies to all children as a group.