Breakdown of Tom duwde de schuifdeur open, omdat de klok in de hal aangaf dat het pauze was.
zijn
to be
Tom
Tom
in
in
dat
that
open
open
omdat
because
aangeven
to show
de pauze
the break
de hal
the hall
de schuifdeur
the sliding door
duwen
to push
de klok
the clock
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Questions & Answers about Tom duwde de schuifdeur open, omdat de klok in de hal aangaf dat het pauze was.
Why is open at the end in Tom duwde de schuifdeur open, and what does that tell me about Dutch verbs?
This is an example of a separable verb. The infinitive is open duwen (“to push open”). In a finite main clause the conjugated part (duwde) must appear in second position, and the separable particle (open) moves to the very end of the clause—after the object. So in effect you get “Tom duwde [object] open.”
What is schuifdeur, and why is it written as one word?
Schuifdeur is a compound noun: schuif (“sliding”) + deur (“door”) → schuifdeur = “sliding door.” Dutch routinely glues descriptive words together into a single compound without spaces or hyphens.
Why does the sentence use aangaf instead of gaf aan when talking about what the clock did?
The verb aangeven (“to indicate; to signal”) can be inseparable in this meaning. When it’s inseparable, the prefix aan- stays attached even in finite forms—so the past tense is aangaf, not gaf aan. Here it means “the clock indicated.”
Why are aangaf and was both at the ends of their clauses?
Dutch subordinate clauses have verb-final word order.
1) omdat (“because”) starts the first subordinate clause, so its verb aangaf goes to the end.
2) Inside that clause, aangeven takes another subordinate clause introduced by dat, so its verb was also moves to the very end.
There are two dat words—one after omdat and one before het pauze was. Aren’t they the same?
They look alike but do different jobs:
- omdat is the subordinating conjunction “because.”
- The second dat introduces the content clause (object clause) of aangeven, equivalent to English “that it was break.” You need both: one for “because” and one for “that.”
Why is het used before pauze instead of de, given that pauze is a de-word?
When stating it is/break, Dutch uses an impersonal het as a dummy subject for situations or time expressions. You say het is pauze (“it is break”), not de pauze is, because you’re talking about the event (break time), not the noun’s gender.
What’s the difference between omdat and want, and how would using want instead affect the sentence?
- omdat is a subordinating conjunction → verb-final order in its clause.
- want is a coordinating conjunction → keeps the verb in second position (main-clause order).
If you used want, you’d write:
“Tom duwde de schuifdeur open, want de klok in de hal gaf aan dat het pauze was.”
Notice gaf stays right after the subject de klok.
Why is in de hal placed right after klok instead of at the beginning of the sentence?
Here in de hal modifies klok (“the clock in the hall”), so it’s part of the noun phrase de klok in de hal. As an internal modifier it follows the noun. If it were a separate adverbial (telling where something happened), it could move to the front (e.g. In de hal hing een klok).