Learn Hardcore Dutch: Ik zet mijn tas opzij zodat jij kunt zitten.

zetten – to put/set something in an upright or neutral position, or more generally to place something somewhere.
- Ik zet mijn tas opzij = I put my bag aside.
leggen – to lay something down (often flat).
- Ik leg het boek op tafel = I lay/put the book on the table.
doen – very general to do/put, often when the exact movement isn’t important.
- Doe je tas in de kast = Put your bag in the cupboard.

In this sentence, zet is natural because you’re placing the bag in another position/location. Leg wouldn’t be wrong with a different context (e.g. if you focus on laying it down somewhere), but zet ... opzij is the usual idiomatic phrase. Doe would sound a bit vague or childish here.

What does opzij mean exactly, and why is it at the end of ik zet mijn tas opzij?

Opzij literally means to the side / aside.

Ik zet mijn tas opzij = I put my bag aside / to the side.

Grammatically, this works like a separable verb: opzijzetten (opzij + zetten).

In the main clause, the finite verb (zet) is in second position, and the particle opzij goes to the end:
- Ik zet mijn tas opzij.

In the past tense you see the full separable verb clearly:

Ik heb mijn tas opzijgezet. = I have put my bag aside.

So opzij is placed at (or near) the end because it is the separable part of opzijzetten.

What is zodat doing here, and how is it different from omdat or dus?

Zodat introduces a clause that expresses a purpose or result: so that / in order that.

Ik zet mijn tas opzij zodat jij kunt zitten.
= I put my bag aside so that you can sit (down).

Comparison:

zodat – purpose/result:
- Ik spreek langzaam zodat je me beter kunt verstaan.
  I speak slowly so that you can understand me better.
omdat – reason: because
- Ik zet mijn tas opzij omdat jij wilt zitten.
  I put my bag aside because you want to sit.
dus – conclusion: so / therefore (it’s a coordinating conjunction)
- Jij wilt zitten, dus ik zet mijn tas opzij.
  You want to sit, so I put my bag aside.
want – reason: because (also coordinating)
- Ik zet mijn tas opzij, want jij wilt zitten.

Here zodat is used because the clause expresses a helpful purpose/result: freeing the seat so you can sit.

Why is the word order zodat jij kunt zitten and not zodat jij zit kunt or something else?

In Dutch, a clause introduced by zodat is a subordinate clause. In subordinate clauses:

All verbs move to the end of the clause.
When there are two verbs (like a modal + infinitive), the order is: finite verb (conjugated) + infinitive.

So:

jij kunt zitten (subordinate clause)
- kunt = finite verb (conjugated form of kunnen)
- zitten = infinitive

The pattern is:

main clause: Ik zet mijn tas opzij (verb in second position)
zodat
- subordinate clause: zodat jij kunt zitten (verbs at the end: kunt zitten)

Forms like zodat jij zit kunt are incorrect in standard Dutch.

Why is it kunt and not kan in jij kunt zitten?

The verb kunnen (to be able / can) has different forms:

ik kan
jij/je kunt (standard)
hij/zij/het kan
wij/jullie/zij kunnen

So with jij, the regular form is jij kunt.

In spoken Dutch, you may also hear je kan, especially with je (unstressed), but:

jij kunt – standard and slightly more emphatic (you in particular can)
je kunt / je kan – both common colloquially

In this sentence, jij kunt zitten is completely standard: kunt matches jij.

Could you also say zodat jij zit instead of zodat jij kunt zitten?

That would sound strange here.

zodat jij kunt zitten = so that you can sit, focusing on the possibility/ability to take the seat.
zodat jij zit literally = so that you sit / so that you are sitting, which suggests forcing or ensuring a state: I want you to be sitting (rather than standing).

In context, the speaker is making room and enabling the other person to sit down. Dutch normally uses kunnen in this type of polite, practical situation, so zodat jij kunt zitten is natural and idiomatic; zodat jij zit is not.

Why is the present tense ik zet used, when in English we might say “I’ll put my bag aside”?

Dutch often uses the present tense to talk about an action that is happening right now or immediately next, where English might use will or a continuous form.

Ik zet mijn tas opzij can mean:
- I am (now) putting my bag aside.
- I’ll put my bag aside (right now).

The context makes it clear that it’s an immediate action. You could also say:

Ik zal mijn tas opzijzetten. = I will put my bag aside. (slightly more formal/explicit future)

But in a spontaneous spoken context, Ik zet mijn tas opzij is very natural for “I’ll put my bag aside (now).”

What about mijn tas – is tas a de-word or a het-word, and does that affect mijn?

Tas (bag) is a de-word:

de tas = the bag

For possessive pronouns like mijn, there is no difference between de-words and het-words in the singular:

mijn tas (de-woord)
mijn huis (het-woord)

So you always say mijn tas, regardless of gender. The gender only matters for things like de/het and some adjective endings, not for mijn itself in the singular.

Why is it jij and not je, u, or jullie in this sentence?

Dutch has several forms of you:

jij – singular, informal, stressed (emphasis on you).
je – singular, informal, unstressed, very common in everyday speech.
u – singular or plural, formal.
jullie – plural, informal.

In zodat jij kunt zitten, using jij can give a slight emphasis: so that *you can sit* (as opposed to someone else). In many contexts you could also hear:

zodat je kunt zitten (more neutral, informal)
zodat u kunt zitten (formal, respectful, e.g. to a stranger)
zodat jullie kunt zitten is wrong; it should be zodat jullie kunnen zitten for plural you.

So jij is chosen here for a singular, informal you, with a bit of emphasis.

Are there other natural ways to say this sentence in Dutch, and do they change the meaning?

Yes, several variants are possible with small nuance differences but basically the same meaning:

Ik zet mijn tas aan de kant zodat jij kunt zitten.
- aan de kant = to the side / out of the way. Very common.
Ik leg mijn tas opzij zodat jij kunt zitten.
- Focuses a bit more on laying the bag down.
Ik zet mijn tas opzij zodat jij kan zitten.
- kan instead of kunt is common in speech with je, and increasingly heard with jij too, though jij kunt is standard.
Ik doe mijn tas even weg zodat jij kunt zitten.
- wegdoen = to put away; more like “I’ll put my bag away for a moment.”

All these versions keep the same basic idea: moving the bag aside/out of the way so the other person has space to sit.