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Wij willen samenwerken zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft.

Wij willen samenwerken zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft.
We want to work together so that our society remains friendly and safe.
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Questions & Answers about Wij willen samenwerken zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft.

What is the difference between wij and we in Dutch? Why is wij used here?

Dutch has two forms for we: wij and we.

  • wij is the stressed form.
  • we is the unstressed form.

In normal, neutral sentences, you’ll more often hear we:

  • We willen samenwerken. – We want to cooperate.

You use wij:

  • to contrast with someone else: Wij willen samenwerken, maar zij niet.
  • to emphasize the subject: It’s we (and not others) who want to cooperate.

In your sentence, Wij willen samenwerken zodat…, wij slightly emphasizes that we (whoever “we” are) want to cooperate. In many contexts, We willen samenwerken zodat… would also be perfectly fine and very natural.

Does willen mean the English future “will” here?

No. Dutch willen does not normally express future tense. It means to want.

  • Wij willen samenwerken = We want to cooperate, not We will cooperate.

To talk about the future in Dutch, you usually:

  • Just use the present tense: Morgen werken we samen. – We’ll work together tomorrow.
  • Or use zullen: We zullen samenwerken. – We will cooperate.

So the sentence is about a wish/intention:
Wij willen samenwerken… = We want to cooperate…

What does samenwerken mean exactly, and is it a separable verb?

Samenwerken means to work together / to cooperate.

It is a separable verb:

  • Infinitive: samenwerken
  • Present tense (main clause): Wij werken samen. – We work together.
    • Here you see the separation: werken (verb) + samen (particle).
  • With a modal like willen, you use the infinitive at the end:
    Wij willen samenwerken.

So:

  • Wij werken samen. – We are cooperating.
  • Wij willen samenwerken. – We want to cooperate.

Both are correct, just different structures.

What does zodat mean, and what does it do to the word order?

Zodat means so that (introducing a purpose or result).

It introduces a subordinate clause, and in Dutch subordinate clauses have the finite verb at the end.

In your sentence:

  • Main clause: Wij willen samenwerken (word order: Subject – Verb – …)
  • Subordinate clause: zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft
    • Subject: onze samenleving
    • Verb: blijft → goes to the end because of zodat

So:

  • Wij willen samenwerken zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft.
    = We want to cooperate so that our society stays friendly and safe.

If there were no zodat, the verb would not be forced to the end:

  • Onze samenleving blijft vriendelijk en veilig. (normal main clause order)
Why is it onze samenleving and not ons samenleving?

Dutch has two forms for our:

  • ons – used with singular neuter nouns
  • onze – used with:
    • singular common-gender nouns
    • all plural nouns

Samenleving (society) is:

  • singular
  • common gender (de samenleving)

Therefore you must use onze:

  • onze samenleving = our society

Examples:

  • ons huis (het huis → neuter, singular)
  • onze auto (de auto → common gender, singular)
  • onze huizen (plural → always onze)
Why do vriendelijk and veilig not have an -e ending here?

In Dutch, adjectives get an -e ending when they stand before a noun (attributive use), with some exceptions.

Examples:

  • een vriendelijke man – a friendly man
  • een veilig huis – a safe house

But in your sentence, vriendelijk and veilig are predicate adjectives: they come after the verb blijft and describe the subject onze samenleving.

Predicate adjectives usually do not take an -e:

  • De samenleving blijft vriendelijk.
  • Het huis is veilig.

So:

  • …zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft.
    → no -e needed.
What is the nuance of blijft here compared to using is?

Blijft comes from blijven, which means to stay / to remain.

  • zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig blijft
    = so that our society stays/remains friendly and safe.

This suggests:

  • the society is already friendly and safe, and
  • the goal of cooperating is to keep it that way.

If you said:

  • zodat onze samenleving vriendelijk en veilig is
    it sounds more static and less natural here; it doesn’t clearly express the idea of maintaining that state over time. Blijft fits the idea of continuing to be friendly and safe.
Why is it blijft and not blijven?

Blijft is the third person singular form of blijven in the present tense.

The subject of the clause is onze samenleving:

  • samenleving is singular → it takes blijft.

Conjugation in the present tense:

  • ik blijf
  • jij / u blijft
  • hij / zij / het blijft
  • wij / jullie / zij blijven

So:

  • Onze samenleving blijft vriendelijk en veilig. ✔️
  • Onze samenleving blijven vriendelijk en veilig. ✖️ (wrong)
Could the word order of vriendelijk and veilig be switched? Does vriendelijk en veilig vs veilig en vriendelijk change the meaning?

Yes, you can switch them:

  • vriendelijk en veilig
  • veilig en vriendelijk

Both are grammatically correct and mean the same in a basic sense: friendly and safe.

Any difference is only a matter of rhythm or subtle emphasis:

  • Putting vriendelijk first might make “friendliness” feel a little more foregrounded.
  • Putting veilig first might slightly highlight “safety” first.

But for most speakers, it’s just a natural-sounding fixed pair: vriendelijk en veilig feels quite smooth.