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Questions & Answers about Tom probeert zijn woordenschat elke avond bij te houden met kaartjes.
Why is proberen followed by te + infinitive (as in bij te houden) instead of just the bare infinitive?
In Dutch, verbs like proberen, beginnen, stoppen, etc., require the particle te before a second verb in the infinitive. The pattern is:
subject + proberen + te + infinitive.
So you say Ik probeer te slapen, Zij beginnen te lezen, and here Tom probeert te bijhouden (but with word order adjustment, see below).
Why is bijhouden written as one word here, and why doesn’t bij appear at the end of the clause?
Bijhouden is a separable verb (bij + houden).
- In a finite main clause: the prefix goes to the end
Ik houd de krant bij. - In an infinitive (after te): prefix + verb fuse into one word
Ik probeer de krant bij te houden.
Could elke avond be placed somewhere else in the sentence, or is its position fixed?
Dutch is a V2-language, so the finite verb stays in second position. Adverbials like elke avond are more flexible:
- Tom probeert elke avond zijn woordenschat bij te houden met kaartjes.
- Elke avond probeert Tom zijn woordenschat bij te houden met kaartjes.
- Tom probeert zijn woordenschat bij te houden met kaartjes elke avond.
All are grammatically correct; choice depends on emphasis.
Why do we say elke avond instead of elk avond?
When elk (“each”) modifies a singular common noun, you add -e: elke avond.
You can also use iedere avond with the same meaning.
What does woordenschat literally mean, and is it countable?
Woordenschat combines woorden (“words”) + schat (“treasure”) to mean “vocabulary.” It’s an abstract, uncountable noun in Dutch, always singular (just like “vocabulary” in English).
Why is there no article before kaartjes?
When speaking about plural items in general or indefinite terms, Dutch drops the article. Here kaartjes (“cards” or “flashcards”) is used generically, so no de or een is needed. If you referred to specific cards, you’d say de kaartjes.
Can I replace kaartjes with the English word flashcards, or must I say studiekaartjes?
Many Dutch speakers understand and sometimes use flashcards, but kaartjes is perfectly idiomatic. For precision you can also say studiekaartjes (“study cards”) or oefenkaartjes (“practice cards”).
Could I drop proberen and simply say, Tom houdt zijn woordenschat elke avond bij met kaartjes?
Yes.
- Tom houdt zijn woordenschat elke avond bij met kaartjes.
means “Tom keeps up his vocabulary every evening with cards.”
Adding proberen changes the nuance to “Tom tries to keep up his vocabulary,” implying effort rather than stating it as a fact.