Learn Hardcore Dutch: Sowieso neem ik mijn jas mee. - In any case, I will take my coat with me.

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. If you place an element other than the subject in first position (here, the adverb sowieso), the verb comes next, and the subject follows it.

With fronted adverb: Sowieso neem ik mijn jas mee.
With the subject in first position: Ik neem sowieso mijn jas mee. Do not say: “Sowieso ik neem mijn jas mee.”

Can I put sowieso somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Common, natural options are:

Start: Sowieso neem ik mijn jas mee. (strong, contrastive emphasis; picks up on earlier context)
Mid-sentence after the subject: Ik neem sowieso mijn jas mee. (neutral)
Before the particle’s verb phrase: Ik neem mijn jas sowieso mee. (also fine; emphasis near the “taking-along”) End position (Ik neem mijn jas mee sowieso) is an afterthought style and much more colloquial; avoid it in careful speech/writing.

What nuance does sowieso add compared with zeker, toch, or in ieder geval?

sowieso = “in any case / regardless of what else happens.” It often answers potential objections: you’d do it no matter what.
zeker = “certainly/for sure.” It expresses confidence, not necessarily the “regardless” nuance.
toch = “anyway/after all” (often in spite of something). It can sound more adversative: you’ll do it despite expectations.
in ieder geval = “at least / in any case.” A bit more neutral/formal than sowieso. All can overlap, but sowieso strongly signals “no matter what.”

What is mee doing here? Why not just say Ik neem mijn jas?

mee is the separable particle that adds the meaning “along/with (me/us).”

Ik neem mijn jas mee = I’m taking my coat along (bringing it with me).
Ik neem mijn jas without mee suggests “I take my coat” in a more bare, non-directional sense (picking it up, taking possession), and is usually not what you mean in everyday context. To express “bring/take along,” you need mee.

How do separable verbs like meenemen behave across tenses and clauses?

Main clause (present): Ik neem mijn jas mee.
Subordinate clause (finite verb at the end, particle joins): omdat ik mijn jas meeneem.
With a modal (infinitive at the end, joined): Ik wil mijn jas meenemen.
Perfect (past participle, joined): Ik heb mijn jas meegenomen.
Future with gaan: Ik ga mijn jas meenemen. Do not write a single word in main-clause finite position: “Ik meeneem” is not used; it’s split as neem … mee.

What’s the difference between meenemen, meebrengen, and brengen?

meenemen = take something along from here to there (speaker’s viewpoint is the starting point).
meebrengen = bring something along to here (destination is where the speaker/listener is).
brengen = bring (more general).
In practice, meenemen is very common for “bring/take along” in everyday speech, even when English would say “bring.” Context usually resolves the viewpoint.

Where do object pronouns go with mee?

Object pronouns come before the particle and after the verb:

Ik neem hem mee.
Neem je het mee?
With sowieso: Ik neem hem sowieso mee / Sowieso neem ik hem mee. Do not put the pronoun after mee: “Ik neem mee hem” is wrong.

Do I need a determiner with jas? Can I say Ik neem jas mee?

You need a determiner or a possessive:

Ik neem mijn jas mee.
Ik neem de jas mee.
Ik neem een jas mee. Bare singular nouns are generally not used in Dutch here, so Ik neem jas mee is ungrammatical.

Is m’n okay instead of mijn?

Yes, m’n is the common informal/clitic spelling of mijn. It’s fine in casual writing and very common in speech. Use mijn in formal writing. Pronunciation: m’n ≈ “mun” (schwa + n), mijn has the Dutch ij sound.

How do I pronounce sowieso and mee?

sowieso: so-wee-ZO (stress on the last syllable). The Dutch w is a soft, labiodental sound (between English v and w). The final o is long: [oː].
mee: like English “may” but without the glide at the end; a long pure [eː].
Other words: neem [neːm], jas [jɑs], mijn has the Dutch ij [ɛi] (roughly like English “mine” but shorter/crisper).

Is sowieso formal, informal, or neutral?

Neutral to informal in tone, and very common in speech. It’s perfectly fine in most writing. If you want something a bit more formal, in ieder geval is a safe alternative.

How does negation work here? Where does niet go?

Put niet before the separable particle area (i.e., before mee):

Ik neem mijn jas sowieso niet mee.
Sowieso neem ik mijn jas niet mee. The collocation sowieso niet means “definitely not / in any case not.”

Why is there no comma after Sowieso?

Dutch does not require a comma between a short fronted adverbial and the main clause. Sowieso neem ik mijn jas mee is standard. A comma is only common with longer or heavier fronted elements.

How would I turn this into a yes/no question?

Invert subject and verb, and keep adverb placement natural:

Neem je sowieso je jas mee?
Neem jij je jas sowieso mee? Fronting sowieso in a yes/no question is rare and very marked; prefer the patterns above.

Could I use met instead of mee?

Not in this construction. You cannot say Ik neem mijn jas met. Use mee with separable verbs to mean “along/with.” Met is a preposition (“with”), e.g., Ik ga met mijn jas (“I’m going with my coat”), but it does not replace the particle mee in meenemen.