Breakdown of Ik probeer me in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
Questions & Answers about Ik probeer me in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
In Dutch, zich concentreren (to concentrate, to focus) is normally reflexive.
That means it is used with a reflexive pronoun:
- ik concentreer me
- jij concentreert je
- hij/zij concentreert zich
- wij concentreren ons
- jullie concentreren je
- zij concentreren zich
So when you use it after proberen, you still need that reflexive pronoun:
- Ik probeer me te concentreren.
= I am trying (myself) to concentrate.
Without me, the sentence sounds incomplete or wrong to native speakers in this meaning of “to focus mentally”.
Dutch has two forms of the first‑person singular object pronoun:
- me – unstressed form (clitic), used in normal, neutral speech
- mij – stressed form, used for emphasis or contrast
In reflexive constructions, the unstressed form is usual:
- Ik was me. – I wash (myself).
- Ik herinner me dat. – I remember that.
- Ik probeer me te concentreren.
You would use mij only when you really want to emphasize me:
- Ik probeer mij in de bibliotheek te concentreren, maar de anderen praten steeds.
(The emphasis is: I am trying to concentrate.)
So me is the normal, default choice here.
Te plus an infinitive in Dutch works much like “to” + verb in English:
- proberen
- te
- infinitive
→ Ik probeer te lezen. – I am trying to read.
→ Ik probeer me te concentreren.
- infinitive
- te
Many verbs take this structure:
- Ik hoop te komen. – I hope to come.
- Ik vergeet vaak te bellen. – I often forget to call.
So te concentreren is just the infinitive phrase “to concentrate”, and te is required after proberen.
Dutch tends to put non‑finite verbs (infinitives, participles) towards the end of the clause.
In this sentence:
- Ik – subject
- probeer – conjugated verb (finite verb, in second position)
- me – reflexive pronoun (object)
- in de bibliotheek – prepositional phrase (place)
- te concentreren – infinitive verb phrase, goes to the end
So the basic structure is:
Subject – finite verb – (objects, adverbials) – te + infinitive at the end
That’s why you get:
Ik probeer me in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
Yes, that’s perfectly correct.
Both of these are fine:
- Ik probeer me in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
- Ik probeer me te concentreren in de bibliotheek.
The difference is minimal:
- Version 1 slightly groups in de bibliotheek more tightly with proberen (where you’re trying).
- Version 2 slightly groups in de bibliotheek more with te concentreren (where the concentrating happens).
In practice, both are natural and interchangeable in most contexts. Dutch allows some flexibility in where you place adverbial phrases like in de bibliotheek.
The choice of preposition depends on the relationship in space:
- in de bibliotheek – inside the library (you’re there, in the building/room)
- bij de bibliotheek – near/at the library (in the area of the library, not necessarily inside)
- op de bibliotheek – generally not used for buildings in this sense
(Dutch uses op with some places like op school, op kantoor, but not with bibliotheek in standard usage)
Since the idea here is “I’m trying to concentrate inside the library,” in de bibliotheek is the natural choice.
It’s technically understandable, but it sounds awkward and unnatural in standard Dutch.
For short pronouns like me, je, hem, Dutch strongly prefers to place them earlier, close to the finite verb:
- Ik probeer me in de bibliotheek te concentreren. ✅
- Ik probeer me te concentreren in de bibliotheek. ✅
- Ik probeer in de bibliotheek me te concentreren. ❌ (very clumsy, non‑native word order)
So keep the reflexive pronoun right after the finite verb (or after the subject if the verb comes later in other structures).
You change both the finite verb (probeer) and the reflexive pronoun:
Ik probeer me in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
– I am trying to concentrate in the library.Hij probeert zich in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
– He is trying to concentrate in the library.Zij (singular) probeert zich in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
– She is trying to concentrate in the library.Wij proberen ons in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
– We are trying to concentrate in the library.Jullie proberen je in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
– You (plural) are trying to concentrate in the library.Zij (plural) proberen zich in de bibliotheek te concentreren.
– They are trying to concentrate in the library.
So the pattern is: subject + conjugated proberen + correct reflexive pronoun (me / je / zich / ons / je / zich).
The difference is mostly one of aspect / nuance:
Ik concentreer me (in de bibliotheek).
= I am concentrating / I am focusing (fact, ongoing action)Ik probeer me (in de bibliotheek) te concentreren.
= I am trying to concentrate (I want to, but it’s difficult / not fully successful)
So:
- Use Ik concentreer me when you present it as something you are actually doing.
- Use Ik probeer me te concentreren when you want to express effort and maybe difficulty (for example, people are noisy, you’re tired, etc.).
In this meaning (“to focus mentally”), no. Native speakers would find that sentence wrong or at least very odd.
For “to concentrate (one’s attention)”, Dutch uses zich concentreren and requires the reflexive pronoun:
- Ik probeer me te concentreren. ✅
- Ik probeer te concentreren. ❌ (in this sense)
There are rare, more technical or transitive uses of concentreren without zich (e.g. een oplossing concentreren = to concentrate a solution in chemistry), but that’s a different meaning. For everyday “I’m trying to concentrate”, always keep me / je / zich / ons.