Breakdown of Ik laat de groenten in de oven garen.
ik
I
in
in
de groente
the vegetable
laten
to let
de oven
the oven
garen
to cook
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Questions & Answers about Ik laat de groenten in de oven garen.
What is the function of laten in this sentence?
In Dutch, laten + infinitive is a causative construction. It means you “have something done” or “let something happen.” So ik laat de groenten in de oven garen isn’t simply “I cook the vegetables,” but literally “I let the vegetables cook in the oven” (or more naturally, “I leave the vegetables to cook in the oven”).
Why is there no te before garen?
After causative or modal verbs like laten, moeten, kunnen, durven, etc., the following infinitive appears without te. You say laten garen, never laten te garen.
Why is garen placed at the end of the sentence?
Dutch follows a verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses: the finite verb (laat) must be the second element, and any non-finite verbs (garen) move to the very end. Everything else (object, adverbials) comes in between.
What does garen mean, and how is it different from koken?
Garen means “to cook through” or “to let something cook until done,” regardless of method (steaming, baking, roasting). Koken specifically means “to boil” or “to cook in water.” Since vegetables in the oven aren’t boiled, garen is more accurate.
Could I use koken instead of garen here?
No, unless you’re actually boiling them. If you say ik kook de groenten in de oven, it sounds odd because you don’t boil inside an oven. For oven-cooking you could also use bakken, roosteren or stick with the general garen.
Why is it in de oven and not op de oven?
You use in when something is enclosed or inside. Op would mean “on top of.” So you put the vegetables in the oven, not on it.
Why is it de groenten and not just groenten or de groente?
With de groenten you refer to a specific batch of vegetables (e.g. the ones you just chopped). You could say groenten without an article when speaking generally (“I like vegetables”), and groente (singular) when you mean “vegetable” as a category or mass noun.
How do I form a negative sentence? Where does niet go?
To negate the action, place niet before the infinitive group you want to deny. The most neutral is:
Ik laat de groenten niet in de oven garen.
If you want to emphasize in de oven, you can also say:
Ik laat de groenten in de oven niet garen.