Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen; is dat noodzakelijk?

She plans to take her pet along; is that necessary?

Breakdown of Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen; is dat noodzakelijk?

• zijn: to be
• zij: she
• dat: that
• om: for
• meenemen: to take along
• haar: her
• van plan zijn: to plan
• het huisdier: the pet
• noodzakelijk: necessary

Questions & Answers about Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen; is dat noodzakelijk?

Why do we say Zij is van plan instead of something like Zij plant?

In Dutch, van plan zijn is the standard way to say “to intend / to plan (to do something)”.

Structure:

• Zij is van plan om … te + infinitive = She plans / intends to …

The verb plannen is not used like English “to plan to do something”. It usually takes a noun object, not an infinitive:

• Zij plant haar vakantie. = She is planning/scheduling her holiday.
• ✗ Zij plant haar huisdier mee te nemen. (unnatural)

So to express “she intends to take her pet (along)”, you say:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen.

What does om do in om haar huisdier mee te nemen? Is it necessary?

Om … te + infinitive often corresponds to English “to … / in order to …” and introduces a purpose or intended action.

Here:

• om haar huisdier mee te nemen ≈ “to take her pet (along)”

After van plan zijn, om is optional:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen.
• Zij is van plan haar huisdier mee te nemen.

Both are correct. Including om is a bit more explicit and is common in both spoken and written Dutch. Leaving it out sounds slightly more compact and is also very natural.

Why is it mee te nemen and not meenemen or mee nemen?

Meenemen is a separable verb: mee (particle) + nemen (verb).

• In a simple main clause, the particle goes to the end:

  • Zij neemt haar huisdier mee. (present tense)

• In a te + infinitive construction, the pattern is:

  • particle + te + infinitive
  • mee te nemen

So:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen.

You would not write:

• ✗ … om haar huisdier mee nemen.
• ✗ … om haar huisdier meenemen.

Both are ungrammatical in this context. The correct infinitival form is mee te nemen.

Why is the order om haar huisdier mee te nemen and not om mee haar huisdier te nemen?

In Dutch infinitive clauses, the general pattern is:

[om] + other elements (objects, adverbs) + verb cluster

So in om haar huisdier mee te nemen:

• om = marker of the infinitive clause
• haar huisdier = object
• mee te nemen = verb cluster (particle + te + infinitive)

Putting mee before the object:

• ✗ om mee haar huisdier te nemen

sounds wrong to native speakers. The object usually comes before the split verb cluster in this kind of clause.

What is the difference between Zij and Ze here?

Zij and ze both mean “she”.

• Zij:

  • Stressed form.
  • Used for emphasis: Zij (and not someone else) is planning this.
  • More typical in careful or written language, especially at the start of a sentence.

• Ze:

  • Unstressed, more neutral and common in everyday speech.
  • Ze is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen.

In your sentence, Zij is perfectly correct and slightly more emphatic/formal than Ze.

Does haar mean “her” or “hair” in haar huisdier? How do I tell?

Dutch haar can mean:

1. “her” – possessive pronoun

   • haar huisdier = her pet

2. “hair” – noun

   • het haar = the hair

In haar huisdier:

• It must be “her”, because:
  • There is no article (het) in front of haar.
  • It directly modifies a noun (huisdier).

If it meant “hair”, you would see something like:

• het haar van haar huisdier = the hair of her pet.

How is the question Is dat noodzakelijk? formed, and what does dat refer to?

Dutch yes/no questions usually have verb–subject inversion:

• Statement: Dat is noodzakelijk. (That is necessary.)
• Question: Is dat noodzakelijk? (Is that necessary?)

So:

• is (verb) comes first
• dat (subject/pronoun) follows

Here dat refers back to the whole situation described before:

• “(The fact that) she is planning to take her pet along — is that necessary?”

You cannot start a written yes/no question with Dat is noodzakelijk? as in English; that is a statement. Only intonation would make it sound like a question in speech.

What is the difference between noodzakelijk and nodig? Could I say Is dat nodig?

Both noodzakelijk and nodig mean “necessary”, but there is a nuance:

• noodzakelijk

  • Slightly more formal or strong.
  • Often used in written language, rules, official contexts.
  • Is dat noodzakelijk? = Is that necessary / essential?

• nodig

  • More neutral and common in everyday speech.
  • Is dat nodig? = Is that necessary?

In your sentence, Is dat nodig? is completely correct and a bit more colloquial than Is dat noodzakelijk?

Why is there a semicolon (;) instead of a comma or a period?

The semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen; is dat noodzakelijk?

This is similar to English usage. You could also write:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen. Is dat noodzakelijk?
• Or (less usual here): …, maar is dat noodzakelijk?

So the semicolon is a stylistic choice, not a grammatical requirement. It emphasizes that the question is directly linked to the first clause.

Can I drop om and say Zij is van plan haar huisdier mee te nemen?

Yes.

Both are correct:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen.
• Zij is van plan haar huisdier mee te nemen.

With van plan zijn, om is optional. Many speakers use both forms interchangeably. Including om can sound slightly more careful or explicit; leaving it out is a bit more compact.

Why is it Zij is van plan … (present) instead of a future tense like Zij zal haar huisdier meenemen?

Dutch often uses the present tense to talk about future plans:

• Zij is van plan om haar huisdier mee te nemen.
  • She intends to take her pet (in the future).

Alternative future-like forms are possible:

• Zij zal haar huisdier meenemen. = She will take her pet.
• Zij gaat haar huisdier meenemen. = She is going to take her pet.

Nuance:

• is van plan focuses on intention/plan.
• zal / gaat … meenemen focus more on the future action itself, sometimes sounding more definite.

In your sentence, expressing intention is the point, so Zij is van plan … is the most natural choice.