Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tom vindt citroen in zijn thee lekker, en hij denkt er vaak aan tijdens het koken. - Tom likes lemon in his tea, and he often thinks about it while cooking.

Tom vindt citroen in zijn thee lekker, en hij denkt er vaak aan tijdens het koken.

Tom likes lemon in his tea, and he often thinks about it while cooking.

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Questions & Answers about Tom vindt citroen in zijn thee lekker, en hij denkt er vaak aan tijdens het koken.

Why is lekker placed at the end of the clause after vindt citroen in zijn thee?

In Dutch, predicative adjectives like lekker often appear after the object when used with verbs such as vinden to express taste. The basic word order here is Subject – verb – object – adjective (Tom – vindt – citroen in zijn thee – lekker). English can say “find something tasty,” but Dutch always positions lekker at the end in this construction.

What exactly does vindt citroen in zijn thee lekker mean, and how is it different from Tom houdt van citroen in zijn thee?

vindt … lekker literally means “finds … tasty” and emphasizes the flavor. So Tom vindt citroen in zijn thee lekker means “Tom finds lemon in his tea tasty.”
houden van means “to like” in a more general sense, not specifically about taste. Saying Tom houdt van citroen in zijn thee simply means “Tom likes lemon in his tea” without the direct focus on how it tastes.

Why is there no article before citroen? Shouldn’t it be een citroen?

Here citroen refers to the flavor or presence of lemon, not a whole fruit. When talking about a substance or taste in Dutch, you often omit the article.
Compare:

Tom vindt citroen in zijn thee lekker (lemon as a taste)
Tom doet een citroen in zijn thee (he puts an actual lemon in his tea – uses een because it’s a countable object)

What role does er play in hij denkt er vaak aan?

er is a placeholder pronoun that stands in for “that thing” (the idea of lemon in his tea). In Dutch, when you refer back to something with a verb-plus-preposition combination, you use er + the preposition. Here er replaces citroen in zijn thee, so hij denkt er vaak aan means “he often thinks about it.”

Why does denken require aan in denken aan?

Some Dutch verbs are inseparable from certain prepositions. denken meaning “to think about” always pairs with aan. You must say denken aan iets (to think about something). Without aan, the meaning would be incomplete or wrong.

Why is it tijdens het koken instead of just tijdens koken?

When you turn an infinitive into a noun in Dutch (a nominalization), you need the definite article het. Here koken acts as a noun (“the act of cooking”), so you say tijdens het koken (“during the cooking”). Omitting het in this nominalized form would be ungrammatical.

Can I use terwijl hij kookt instead of tijdens het koken?

Yes. terwijl hij kookt is a subordinate clause meaning “while he is cooking.” tijdens het koken is a prepositional phrase with a nominalized infinitive. Both convey the same idea:

hij denkt er vaak aan terwijl hij kookt
hij denkt er vaak aan tijdens het koken

Could I rewrite the sentence using om te, for example: Tom vindt het lekker om citroen in zijn thee te doen?

Absolutely. That version uses a dummy pronoun het plus an om te infinitive clause to package the action as the object:

Tom vindt het lekker om citroen in zijn thee te doen.
Here het refers to the whole action (“putting lemon in his tea”). The original sentence is more concise by directly attaching lekker to the flavor. Both forms are correct and interchangeable.