Doe je hemd in je broek voordat we vertrekken.

Tuck your shirt into your trousers before we leave.

Breakdown of Doe je hemd in je broek voordat we vertrekken.

• wij: we
• voordat: before
• vertrekken: to leave
• je: your
• in: into
• de broek: the trousers
• instoppen: to tuck in
• het hemd: the shirt

Questions & Answers about Doe je hemd in je broek voordat we vertrekken.

Why is the verb doe used here as the command, and how do you form the imperative in Dutch?

Dutch forms the singular informal imperative by taking the infinitive and dropping -en. For doen: • Infinitive: doen
• Imperative: doe
So Doe je hemd in je broek literally uses the base doe for “tuck/put in.” For plural or formal commands you keep the -n (e.g. doen jullie), or use the infinitive for formal u (e.g. doen u).

Why are there two occurrences of je in the phrase Doe je hemd in je broek?

The first je is a possessive pronoun (“your”) modifying hemd (shirt), and the second je modifies broek (trousers/pants). In Dutch you don’t need an article when you use a possessive; you simply place je before each noun: • je hemd = your shirt
• je broek = your trousers

What exactly does in je broek doen mean, and is there a shorter way to say it?

in je broek doen means “to tuck (your shirt) into your trousers.” A common one-word alternative is the separable verb instoppen: • Infinitive: instoppen
• Imperative: stop (je hemd) in
So you could say Stop je hemd in or Stop je hemd in je broek for the same meaning.

Why is voordat used instead of voor here?

voor is a preposition (e.g. voor het feest, “before the party”), but to connect two clauses you need the subordinating conjunction voordat. It introduces a clause with its own verb: • voordat we vertrekken = “before we leave”
You cannot say voor dat we vertrekken; the correct conjunction is voordat.

Why does the verb vertrekken appear at the end of the clause voordat we vertrekken, and why is there no te before it?

Subordinate clauses in Dutch are verb-final: any finite verb moves to the end. Here vertrekken is the finite present-tense verb for we (“we leave”). Because it’s already conjugated, you don’t use te, which only precedes an infinitive (e.g. te vertrekken in other constructions).

Could we say Stop je hemd in je broek voordat we vertrekken instead of using doe?

Yes. Both Doe je hemd in je broek and Stop je hemd in je broek work: • Doe … in uses doen + preposition.
• Stop … in uses the separable verb instoppen.
The nuance is minimal; stop often sounds more colloquial.

Can the subordinate clause voordat we vertrekken come at the beginning of the sentence, and does that change the word order in the main clause?

Yes. If you start with the subordinate clause, you must apply the Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule in the main clause: • Voordat we vertrekken, doe je hemd in je broek.
Notice in the main clause doe (verb) comes before je (subject) because the subordinate clause occupies the first position.