Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tom is gevoelig voor lawaai en wil daarom rustig werken. - Tom is sensitive to noise and therefore wants to work quietly.

The phrase gevoelig voor is an adjective + preposition combination meaning “sensitive to.” So Tom is gevoelig voor lawaai literally translates as “Tom is sensitive to noise.”

Why is voor used after gevoelig?

In Dutch the collocation gevoelig voor is fixed—when you want to say someone is “sensitive to” something, you always use voor. Other prepositions (like aan or op) would be incorrect in this context.

Why is there no article before lawaai?

Here lawaai is an uncountable noun used in a general sense (“noise” overall). Dutch often omits articles (like het or een) when talking about something in general or as a mass noun.

What is the function of daarom in the sentence?

Daarom is an adverb meaning “therefore” or “for that reason.” It links the two clauses by showing that his desire to work quietly is a direct consequence of being sensitive to noise.

Why does daarom appear between wil and rustig werken?

In a main clause, Dutch places the finite verb (here wil) in second position and then adverbs like daarom immediately after it, before the rest of the predicate (here rustig werken).

Why is there no te before werken?

Because willen is a modal verb in Dutch, it takes a bare infinitive without te. You say wil werken, not wil te werken.

Why isn’t Tom repeated in the second clause (wil daarom rustig werken)?

Since the subject of both clauses is the same (Tom), Dutch often omits it in the second clause to avoid repetition. It’s clear from context that Tom is still the one who wil rustig werken.

What does rustig werken mean, and why is rustig placed before werken?

Rustig werken means “to work quietly” or “to work in peace.” In Dutch, manner adverbs (like rustig) typically come immediately before the verb or infinitive they modify.