Breakdown of Ik drink bronwater als ik dorstig ben.
ik
I
zijn
to be
drinken
to drink
dorstig
thirsty
als
when
het bronwater
the spring water
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ik drink bronwater als ik dorstig ben.
Why is bronwater written as a single word in Dutch and not as bron water?
In Dutch, compound nouns are almost always fused into one word. Bron (source) + water becomes bronwater. Writing them separately (as bron water) would be considered incorrect in standard Dutch.
Why is there no article like een or het before bronwater?
When you talk about something in general—“spring water” as a category—Dutch often drops the article. So Ik drink bronwater means “I drink spring water (in general).” If you referred to a specific spring water, you could say het bronwater or een fles bronwater.
Why is the verb drink in the form ik drink and not ik drinken?
Dutch verbs in the present tense get an ending based on the subject. The infinitive is drinken, but with ik (I) you use the verb stem without -en, giving ik drink.
Why does ben appear at the end of the clause in als ik dorstig ben?
Dutch subordinate clauses (introduced by words like als, omdat, terwijl) push the conjugated verb to the very end. A main clause is ik ben dorstig, but as a subordinate clause it becomes als ik dorstig ben.
What does als mean here? Could I use wanneer instead?
Here als means when (in the sense of “whenever”). You can replace it with wanneer for the same meaning: Ik drink bronwater wanneer ik dorstig ben. Wanneer is slightly more formal and less common in everyday speech.
Why do I have to repeat ik in the subordinate clause? Could I say als dorstig ben?
Every Dutch clause normally needs an explicit subject. You cannot drop ik in als ik dorstig ben, so als dorstig ben would be ungrammatical—you must include ik.
Can I put als ik dorstig ben at the start of the sentence? How does that affect word order?
Yes. If you lead with the subordinate clause, you write:
Als ik dorstig ben, drink ik bronwater.
Notice that in the main clause drink still occupies the second position (the verb-second rule).
Why is it ben in ik dorstig ben and not bent?
The verb zijn (to be) changes with the subject: ik ben, jij bent, hij/zij is, etc. Since the subject is ik, you must use ben.