Learn Hardcore Dutch: Kunt u mij zeggen waar ik mijn museumkaart moet laten stempelen? - Could you tell me where I have to get my museum card stamped?

Dutch has two forms of “you.” u is the polite/formal form; je (or jij) is informal. When you address someone formally—like a museum employee you don’t know—you use u and the corresponding verb form kunt.

How do you form yes/no questions in a Dutch main clause?

In Dutch you usually invert the finite verb and the subject. So a statement “U kunt mij zeggen…” becomes the question “Kunt u mij zeggen….” The finite verb (kunt) moves to first position, the subject (u) follows.

Why is mij placed before zeggen rather than after it?

In Dutch main clauses, object pronouns (like mij, je, hem) come immediately before the full verb. So you say “Kunt u mij zeggen,” not “Kunt u zeggen mij.”

What is the difference between mij and mijn?

mij is an object pronoun (“me” in English).
mijn is a possessive pronoun (“my”).
Here you need mijn museumkaart (“my museum card”), not “me museum card.”

Why do the verbs moet laten stempelen all appear at the end of the clause after waar?

Because the clause “waar ik mijn museumkaart moet laten stempelen” is an indirect question (a subordinate clause) introduced by waar. In Dutch subordinate clauses the finite verb (moet) and any infinitives (laten stempelen) go to the end.

What does laten stempelen mean?

laten plus an infinitive expresses a causative—you have someone else do something. So laten stempelen means “to have (something) stamped,” i.e. you hand over your card so an attendant stamps it.

How do moet, laten and stempelen work together here?

moet is the finite verb from moeten, showing obligation (“must”).
laten is a causative infinitive (“have something done”).
stempelen is the action infinitive (“to stamp”).
Together moet laten stempelen literally is “must have [it] stamped,” i.e. “where I have to get my museum card stamped.”