Breakdown of Ik pak cadeaupapier om het cadeau mooi in te pakken.
ik
I
om
for
pakken
to take
het cadeau
the gift
het cadeaupapier
the wrapping paper
mooi
nicely
inpakken
to wrap
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Questions & Answers about Ik pak cadeaupapier om het cadeau mooi in te pakken.
What does the verb pak mean in this sentence?
pak is the first-person singular present of pakken, which means “to take” or “to grab.” Here Ik pak cadeaupapier literally means “I take (or grab) wrapping paper.”
Why is cadeaupapier written as one word instead of two?
Dutch typically forms compound nouns by joining individual words. cadeaupapier = cadeau (gift) + papier (paper). Writing it as one word signals it’s a single concept: “wrapping paper.”
What is the function of om + infinitive (om … te inpakken)?
The om … te construction expresses purpose (“in order to”).
• om het cadeau mooi in te pakken = “in order to wrap the gift nicely.”
Why doesn’t the separable verb inpakken split up inside the om … te clause?
Separable verbs only split in main clauses.
• Main clause: Ik pak papier in.
• Infinitive clause: the parts stay together at the end: om het cadeau in te pakken.
Why is it mooi and not mooie, and why does it come before in te pakken?
Here mooi is an adverb modifying the verb inpakken (“to wrap nicely”), so it remains in its uninflected form (mooi) and precedes the verb cluster in the infinitive clause.
Why is the infinitive clause placed at the end of the sentence?
In Dutch, subordinate or purpose clauses, including those with om … te, are typically positioned after the main clause. This keeps the main action (Ik pak cadeaupapier) up front.
Why is it het cadeau rather than de cadeau?
The noun cadeau is neuter (het) in Dutch, so it takes het instead of de.