Learn Hardcore Dutch: De docent wil onze oefeningen nakijken. - The teacher wants to check our exercises.

In a normal Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb (the one that changes with the subject) goes in second position, and any other verb(s) go at the end.

In this sentence:

Subject: De docent
Conjugated verb: wil
Object: onze oefeningen
Infinitive (other verb): nakijken

So the standard word order is:

De docent (1st position) wil (2nd) onze oefeningen … nakijken (at the end).

You cannot say:

✗ De docent nakijken wil onze oefeningen.
✗ De docent wil nakijken onze oefeningen.

Those are wrong in standard Dutch.

What kind of verb is nakijken, and how does it behave in other tenses?

Nakijken is a separable verb (scheidbaar werkwoord). It consists of:

Prefix: na-
Base verb: kijken

In the present tense (simple main clause):

De docent kijkt onze oefeningen na.
(The prefix na separates and moves to the end.)

In the perfect tense (with hebben):

De docent heeft onze oefeningen nagekeken.
The parts come back together as nagekeken.

As an infinitive (like in your sentence, after a modal):

De docent wil onze oefeningen nakijken.
It stays together as nakijken at the end.

So:

Finite (present): kijkt … na
Perfect participle: nagekeken
Infinitive: nakijken

Why is there no te before nakijken (why not wil onze oefeningen te nakijken)?

In Dutch, after modal verbs such as:

kunnen (can)
mogen (may)
moeten (must)
willen (want)
zullen (will / shall)

you use the bare infinitive without te.

So you say:

De docent wil onze oefeningen nakijken.
Ik kan Nederlands spreken.
We moeten vroeg opstaan.

You would use te with many other verbs (like proberen, besluiten, etc.), for example:

De docent probeert onze oefeningen na te kijken.
Ik besluit vroeger op te staan.

But not after wil.

Why is it onze and not ons in onze oefeningen?

The possessive pronoun ons/onze depends on gender and number of the noun:

ons is used with singular het-words (neuter nouns), without an adjective
- het huis → ons huis
- het kind → ons kind
onze is used with:
- all de-words (common gender)
- all plurals, regardless of the article

Oefening is a de-word: de oefening.
In plural: de oefeningen.

So you must say:

singular: onze oefening
plural: onze oefeningen

Never ons oefeningen.

What is the difference between docent and leraar? Could I also say De leraar wil onze oefeningen nakijken?

Yes, you could say:

De leraar wil onze oefeningen nakijken.

Both docent and leraar mean teacher, but there is a nuance:

docent: very common for secondary school, college, university; a bit more neutral/formal in some contexts.
leraar / lerares: often used for school teachers, especially primary / secondary education; also more everyday speech.

In many situations, they are interchangeable and both will be understood as teacher.

Why is it de docent and not het docent?

Nouns in Dutch are either de-words or het-words. There is no simple rule for all nouns, but:

Words for people and professions are almost always de-words.

So:

de docent
de leraar / de lerares
de student
de dokter

Docent is always de docent, never het docent.

What is the difference between oefening and oefeningen?

oefening = exercise (singular)
oefeningen = exercises (plural)

Some examples:

De docent wil onze oefening nakijken.
The teacher wants to check our exercise. (one exercise)
De docent wil onze oefeningen nakijken.
The teacher wants to check our exercises. (more than one)

Most Dutch nouns form the plural with -en, and this is a regular example:

de oefening → de oefeningen

How would this sentence look in the past tense or with other modal verbs?

Past tense of willen (wanted):

De docent wilde onze oefeningen nakijken.
The teacher wanted to check our exercises.

With another modal, for example kunnen (can):

De docent kan onze oefeningen nakijken.
The teacher can check our exercises.

With moeten (must / has to):

De docent moet onze oefeningen nakijken.
The teacher must / has to check our exercises.

The word order pattern stays the same in main clauses:

Subject – conjugated modal – object – infinitive at the end

Can I change the order of onze oefeningen and nakijken?

In a main clause, you cannot move nakijken in front of onze oefeningen. These are wrong:

✗ De docent wil nakijken onze oefeningen.
✗ Nakijken wil de docent onze oefeningen. (except as very marked/poetic style)

The normal main-clause order is:

De docent wil onze oefeningen nakijken.

However, in a subordinate clause (introduced by dat, omdat, etc.), both verbs go to the end, and the order can slightly change in some cases, for example:

Ik denk dat de docent onze oefeningen wil nakijken.

Here:

Subordinator: dat
Subject: de docent
Object: onze oefeningen
Verb cluster at the end: wil nakijken

What exactly does nakijken mean, and how is it different from bekijken or controleren?

Nakijken is typically:

to check / mark / correct work such as tests, homework, exercises.

So:

De docent wil onze oefeningen nakijken.
The teacher wants to correct / mark our exercises.

Differences:

bekijken – to look at / examine something (more neutral, just viewing)
- Ik wil de oefeningen even bekijken.
  I want to take a look at the exercises.
controleren – to check, verify if something is correct
- De docent wil de antwoorden controleren.
  The teacher wants to check the answers.

In the context of a teacher and oefeningen, nakijken usually implies marking and correcting students’ work.