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Breakdown of In plaats van shampoo te kopen, leent Anna die van haar oom.
Anna
Anna
kopen
to buy
van
from
haar
her
lenen
to borrow
de shampoo
the shampoo
in plaats van
instead of
die
it
de oom
the uncle
Questions & Answers about In plaats van shampoo te kopen, leent Anna die van haar oom.
What does the structure In plaats van … te + infinitive mean, and how is it formed?
It means “instead of -ing.” Form: In plaats van + te + infinitive (you can place objects before the verb).
- Example: In plaats van tv te kijken, leest hij.
- In your sentence: In plaats van shampoo te kopen, …
Why is it leent Anna instead of Anna leent?
Dutch main clauses are V2: the finite verb must be in second position. The whole fronted phrase In plaats van shampoo te kopen counts as position 1, so the verb comes next, then the subject:
- In plaats van shampoo te kopen, leent Anna …
- Without the fronted phrase, you’d say: Anna leent die van haar oom.
What does die refer to here, and why die instead of dat or het?
Die is a demonstrative pronoun referring back to a singular de-word. Shampoo is a de-word (de shampoo), so you use die. General guide:
- Singular de-word → die (de tafel → die)
- Singular het-word → dat (het boek → dat)
- Plural (de or het nouns) → die
Can I use het for “it” here, or drop the pronoun altogether?
- Het: Not standard here. For inanimate nouns, Dutch typically uses die/dat according to the noun’s gender, not het as a general “it.”
- Dropping the object: Possible in casual speech if the referent is obvious (… leent Anna van haar oom), but it’s more natural and clearer to keep die.
Why is die placed before van haar oom?
Object pronouns usually precede prepositional complements:
- Leent Anna die van haar oom. (pronoun before the van-phrase) With a full noun, the order is noun + van-phrase:
- Leent Anna shampoo van haar oom.
Why is it van haar oom and not bij haar oom?
Lenen takes van to mark the source you borrow from:
- lenen van iemand = borrow from someone Bij usually marks location (“at someone’s place”), not the source.
What’s the difference between lenen and uitlenen?
- lenen = can mean either borrow or lend, depending on context:
- Anna leent een boek van Jan. (Anna borrows a book from Jan.)
- Jan leent Anna een boek. (Jan lends Anna a book.)
- uitlenen = unambiguous “to lend (out)”:
- Jan leent een boek uit aan Anna.
Why is there no article before shampoo, and why no article before oom?
- Shampoo is used as an uncountable mass noun, so no article: shampoo te kopen. If you mean a specific item, use a container or a specific reference: een fles shampoo, die shampoo.
- Possessives don’t take an article: haar oom (not de haar oom).
Is the comma after the introductory phrase required?
It’s optional but recommended for readability after a long fronted phrase:
- In plaats van shampoo te kopen, leent Anna … You’ll also see it without the comma.
Can I use In plaats van dat + clause instead of In plaats van … te + infinitive?
Yes, especially when the subject of the “instead of” action is different:
- Same subject: In plaats van te koken, bestelt hij eten.
- Different subject: In plaats van dat hij kookt, bestelt hij eten. The te + infinitive version is smoother when the subject is the same.
Could the In plaats van-phrase go at the end of the sentence?
Yes:
- Anna leent die van haar oom in plaats van shampoo te kopen. Fronting it (as in your sentence) puts stronger emphasis on the contrast.
Is die here a relative pronoun?
No. It’s a demonstrative pronoun standing for “that/it.” A relative die would introduce a clause (e.g., de shampoo die Anna kocht …). Here, die is the direct object of leent.
What would change if the noun were a het-word?
You’d use dat instead of die:
- In plaats van een boek te kopen, leent Anna dat van haar oom. (het boek → dat)
Why haar and not zijn? And does haar mean “hair” here?
Haar is the possessive “her,” agreeing with Anna. Zijn means “his.” Haar can also be the noun “hair,” but here it’s clearly a possessive pronoun because it precedes a noun (oom).
Any tips about the te + infinitive with separable verbs?
Yes: te goes between the prefix and the verb stem:
- In plaats van op te ruimen, kijkt hij tv.
- In plaats van mee te nemen, laat ze het liggen.
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