Learn Hardcore Dutch: Laten we niet vergeten dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen. - Let’s not forget that the most important lesson is that we keep practicing.

Laten we niet vergeten dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen.

Let’s not forget that the most important lesson is that we keep practicing.

Breakdown of Laten we niet vergeten dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen.

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Questions & Answers about Laten we niet vergeten dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen.

Why does the sentence start with Laten we? What exactly does that structure mean?

Laten we is the Dutch way to make a first-person plural imperative, like English "let’s".

Laten = infinitive of laten (to let / to allow).
we = we / us.

So Laten we niet vergeten... literally is "Let us not forget...", which is naturally translated as "Let’s not forget..." in English.

This pattern is common:

Laten we gaan. – Let’s go.
Laten we beginnen. – Let’s start.
Laten we stoppen. – Let’s stop.

It’s a polite, inclusive way to propose an action to the group that includes the speaker.

Why is it Laten we and not something like Laaten wij or Wij laten?

In the imperative, Dutch uses the infinitive laten with the pronoun:

Laten we... – Let’s ...
(more formal/emphatic) Laten wij... – Let us ...

You don’t conjugate laten here (no laatEN wij or wij laten at the beginning for this meaning).
Wij laten at the start would usually mean "we allow / we let" in a normal present-tense sentence, not an imperative:

Wij laten de kinderen binnen. – We let the children in.

So:

Laten we gaan. = Let’s go. (imperative)
Wij laten hem gaan. = We let him go. (normal present tense)

Why is niet placed between we and vergeten (in Laten we niet vergeten) and not somewhere else?

Niet normally comes before the verb or phrase it negates and near the end of the clause.
In Laten we niet vergeten, the verb we’re really negating is vergeten (to forget).

The structure is:

Laten we [niet vergeten] dat ...
Literally: Let us not forget that ...

If you said:

Laten we vergeten niet dat... – this is incorrect in Dutch.
Laten we dat niet vergeten. – correct, here niet still stands before vergeten but the object dat comes earlier.

So Laten we niet vergeten mirrors the English placement in "Let’s not forget": the negation comes right before the main verb of the action you want to negate.

What does vergeten mean here – is it an infinitive, and why isn’t it conjugated?

Vergeten is the infinitive (to forget). It stays in the infinitive because:

Laten
- infinitive is a standard pattern:
  Laten we
  - infinitive = Let’s + verb.

Some examples:

Laten we beginnen. – Let’s start.
Laten we stoppen. – Let’s stop.
Laten we niet vergeten. – Let’s not forget.

You don’t say Laten we niet vergeet; the verb after laten stays in the base (infinitive) form.

Why does the sentence have dat twice: dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen?

Dutch uses dat to introduce a subordinate clause, similar to "that" in English.
Here we have two subordinate clauses:

dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen
– that the most important lesson is that we keep practicing
Inside that, another dat: dat we blijven oefenen
– that we keep practicing

So the full structure is:

Laten we niet vergeten [dat de belangrijkste les is [dat we blijven oefenen]].

English also repeats that in the same way:

Let’s not forget that the most important lesson is that we keep practicing.

In spoken English, we might drop the first that, but Dutch usually keeps dat in both places.

Why is the verb is in the middle of dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen instead of at the very end?

In a subordinate clause with dat, the finite verb (here is) normally goes to the end.
But when you have:

subject + complement + form of “to be” + another subordinate clause

Dutch often puts is right after the subject + complement, before the next clause, because the other clause is acting like a predicate complement.

Structure here:

dat (subordinator)
de belangrijkste les (subject)
is (verb)
dat we blijven oefenen (complement clause = what the lesson is)

So the pattern is:

dat [subject] [ben/is/zijn/was/waren] [clause or noun phrase]

Similar examples:

Ik denk dat het probleem is dat we te weinig tijd hebben.
I think the problem is that we have too little time.

Putting is at the end (dat de belangrijkste les dat we blijven oefenen is) sounds awkward and is usually avoided.

Why is it de belangrijkste les and not het belangrijkste les?

Because the noun les (lesson) is a de-word in Dutch:

de les – the lesson

Adjectives and articles agree with the gender of the noun. So:

de les – the lesson
een belangrijke les – an important lesson
de belangrijkste les – the most important lesson

You can’t say het les or het belangrijkste les; those are grammatically wrong because les is not a het-word.

How is belangrijkste formed, and why does it end in -e?

Base adjective: belangrijk – important.

Comparative and superlative:

belangrijker – more important
(het) belangrijkst(e) – (the) most important

When an adjective stands in front of a noun, it usually gets an -e ending:

een belangrijk boek – an important book
het belangrijke boek – the important book
de belangrijkste les – the most important lesson

So:

Superlative form: belangrijkst
Attributive (before a noun): add -e → belangrijkste.

What does blijven oefenen mean literally, and what structure is this?

Blijven oefenen is the structure blijven + infinitive, which means "to keep / continue doing something".

blijven – to stay / to remain
oefenen – to practice

So we blijven oefenen = we keep practicing / we continue to practice.

Other examples:

Ik blijf leren. – I keep learning.
Zij blijft lachen. – She keeps laughing.
We blijven proberen. – We keep trying.

This is a very common way in Dutch to express continuation of an activity.

Why is it dat we blijven oefenen and not dat wij blijven oefenen?

Both are possible:

dat we blijven oefenen – neutral, everyday style.
dat wij blijven oefenen – more emphatic on we.

Dutch often uses the short form we in normal speech and writing. The long forms (wij, jij, zij) are used:

for emphasis (contrast: we as opposed to others)
in more formal contexts.

So in this sentence, we is the natural, unmarked choice.
If you said:

dat wij blijven oefenen, it would sound like:
that *we (and not others) keep practicing*.

Why is the verb order dat we blijven oefenen (verb in the middle) and not dat we oefenen blijven?

In a simple subordinate clause introduced by dat, the finite verb goes to the end:

dat we oefenen – that we practice

However, when you have a verb + infinitive construction (blijven oefenen), the finite verb (blijven, conjugated as blijven for we) comes before the infinitive oefenen, even at the end of the clause:

main clause: We blijven oefenen. – We keep practicing.
sub clause: dat we blijven oefenen. – that we keep practicing.

You cannot say dat we oefenen blijven; that order is wrong for this type of verb cluster.
The correct cluster order here is:

[blijven (finite)] + [oefenen (infinitive)].

Could the sentence also be Laten we niet vergeten dat de belangrijkste les is om te blijven oefenen? If so, what’s the difference?

Yes, that version is also correct:

...dat de belangrijkste les is dat we blijven oefenen.
– literally: that the most important lesson is that we keep practicing
Focuses on what actually happens: we keep practicing.
...dat de belangrijkste les is om te blijven oefenen.
– literally: that the most important lesson is to keep practicing
Feels slightly more like a recommendation/goal (to keep practicing), similar to English infinitive "to keep practicing".

Both are natural. The original with dat we blijven oefenen sounds a bit more descriptive (the lesson is that we keep doing this), while om te blijven oefenen sounds a bit more like stating what we should do.

Is there any difference between Laten we niet vergeten and Laten wij niet vergeten?

Grammatically they are the same; both mean "Let’s not forget".

Nuance:

Laten we niet vergeten...
– neutral, most common in modern spoken and written Dutch.
Laten wij niet vergeten...
– puts extra emphasis on wij (we, as opposed to others), or sounds a bit more formal/elevated (e.g. in speeches, writing).

In everyday conversation, you will almost always hear Laten we..., not Laten wij....