Breakdown of Zonder lidmaatschap mag je niet in de bibliotheek lezen.
niet
not
lezen
to read
in
in
je
you
zonder
without
mogen
may
de bibliotheek
the library
het lidmaatschap
the membership
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Questions & Answers about Zonder lidmaatschap mag je niet in de bibliotheek lezen.
Why isn’t there an article before lidmaatschap?
After zonder the noun usually appears without an article. Zonder lidmaatschap means “without membership” in general. If you want to be more specific you can say zonder een lidmaatschap, but Dutch often omits the article in this kind of negative prepositional phrase.
Why does the sentence start with Zonder lidmaatschap and then mag je instead of je mag?
Dutch follows the verb-second (V2) rule. When you begin a sentence with an adverbial or prepositional phrase (here Zonder lidmaatschap), the finite verb must come next, followed by the subject. The neutral order je mag niet… inverts to mag je niet… after moving the adverbial to the front.
What exactly does mag mean here?
Mag is the present tense of the modal verb mogen, which expresses permission. So mag je niet means “you may not” or “you are not allowed to.” It is not about liking something (that would be houden van).
Why is niet placed before in de bibliotheek lezen?
In Dutch niet usually comes before the element it negates. Here it negates the entire action of reading in that location. Putting niet just before in de bibliotheek lezen ensures you forbid reading in the library as a whole.
Can I say Je mag niet lezen in de bibliotheek zonder lidmaatschap instead?
Grammatically it’s correct, but it sounds less natural. In Dutch you typically present the condition first (here Zonder lidmaatschap) to set the context, then invert the verb and subject. Moving the condition to the end shifts the emphasis and feels awkward.
How would I make this sentence more formal?
Replace the informal je with the formal u—the rest stays the same:
- “Zonder lidmaatschap mag u niet in de bibliotheek lezen.”
Could I use geen lidmaatschap instead of zonder lidmaatschap?
Not in this exact structure. Geen lidmaatschap is a negation of the noun (“no membership”), so you’d need a different sentence, for example:
- “Als u geen lidmaatschap heeft, mag u niet in de bibliotheek lezen.”
Why in de bibliotheek and not op de bibliotheek?
In is used for enclosed spaces or interiors. Since you read inside the library, you say in de bibliotheek. Op would imply “on top of,” which doesn’t make sense here.