Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tijdens de les wil ik niet afgeleid worden. - During the lesson I do not want to be distracted.

If you put something else at the beginning for emphasis or context (here: Tijdens de les), the verb still has to stay in second position, so the word order becomes:

Tijdens de les (1st position: time phrase)
wil (2nd position: conjugated verb)
ik niet afgeleid worden (rest of the sentence)

So:

Ik wil tijdens de les niet afgeleid worden.
Tijdens de les wil ik niet afgeleid worden.

Both are correct. The second one emphasizes when you don’t want to be distracted.

Can I also say In de les wil ik niet afgeleid worden or In de klas wil ik niet afgeleid worden? What’s the difference from Tijdens de les?

Yes, those are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

Tijdens de les = during the lesson (time span)
Focus on the period of time in which you don’t want to be distracted.
In de les = in class / in the lesson
More like while I am in that lesson, often almost the same as tijdens de les in practice.
In de klas = in the classroom
Focus on the place (the room), not necessarily on the time span of the lesson.

So:

Tijdens de les wil ik niet afgeleid worden. – I don’t want to be distracted during the lesson (as it is happening).
In de les wil ik niet afgeleid worden. – I don’t want to be distracted in class.
In de klas wil ik niet afgeleid worden. – I don’t want to be distracted in the classroom (as a place).

All are understandable; tijdens de les most clearly expresses “during the lesson” as a time frame.

Why is it wil ik instead of ik wil after Tijdens de les?

Because of the V2 rule in Dutch main clauses:

Exactly one part of the sentence goes in the first position (here: Tijdens de les).
The conjugated verb must go in second position (here: wil).
The subject (here: ik) comes right after the conjugated verb if it’s not already first.

So:

First position: Tijdens de les
Second position (must be the finite verb): wil
Then subject: ik

You cannot say: Tijdens de les ik wil niet afgeleid worden. – that breaks the V2 rule.

What exactly does afgeleid worden mean grammatically?

Afgeleid worden is a passive construction built from the separable verb afleiden (“to distract”) plus the auxiliary worden:

Active: Iets leidt mij af. – Something distracts me.
Passive infinitive: (door iets) afgeleid worden – to be distracted (by something).

In the sentence Tijdens de les wil ik niet afgeleid worden:

wil = conjugated modal verb (“want”)
afgeleid worden = passive infinitive (“to be distracted”)

So literally: Ik wil niet afgeleid worden = I don’t want to be distracted (by anything/anyone).

Why is worden at the very end of the sentence?

In Dutch, infinitives and participles go to the end of the clause. Here we have:

Conjugated verb (2nd position): wil
Infinitive construction at the end: afgeleid worden

Afgeleid is the past participle of afleiden, and worden is the infinitive of the auxiliary verb used for the passive.

The pattern is:

[first element] + [finite verb] + [subject + rest] + [infinitive(s)/participle(s)]

So:

Tijdens de les (first element)
wil (finite verb)
ik niet (subject + negation)
afgeleid worden (infinitive block at the end)

Why do we say afgeleid worden and not just afgeleid zijn?

Both exist, but they express different things:

afgeleid worden – focus on the process / event of being distracted
- Ik wil niet afgeleid worden. – I don’t want anyone/anything to distract me.
afgeleid zijn – focus on the state of already being distracted
- Ik wil niet afgeleid zijn. – I don’t want to be (in a state of being) distracted.

In practice, when you mean “I don’t want to be distracted (by things that might happen),” Dutch normally uses afgeleid worden, not afgeleid zijn.

What is the verb behind afgeleid? And is it separable?

Yes. Afgeleid is the past participle of the separable verb afleiden.

Infinitive: afleiden
Stem: leid‑ (from leiden, “to lead”)
Separable prefix: af‑
Past participle: afgeleid

Examples:

Jij leidt mij af. – You distract me.
Tijdens de les leid je me af. – During class you distract me.
Ik word snel afgeleid. – I get distracted easily.
Ik wil niet afgeleid worden. – I don’t want to be distracted.

Because afleiden is separable, in main clauses the prefix often “jumps” to the end:

Je leidt me af. (not: je afleidt me)

Is worden here “to become” or “to be”?

Literally, worden means “to become”, but in Dutch it is also used as the auxiliary for the passive, where in English we usually just use “to be”.

So:

Ik word afgeleid. – I am being distracted.
Ik wil niet afgeleid worden. – I don’t want to be distracted.

In this sentence, worden functions as a passive auxiliary, so you translate it as “to be”, not “to become”.

Why is niet placed before afgeleid worden and not somewhere else?

Niet generally comes:

Before a verb phrase at the end of the clause,
or before the specific part you want to negate.

Here, afgeleid worden is one unit (a passive infinitive phrase). You’re negating the whole action “to be distracted”, so niet comes right before that phrase:

Ik wil niet afgeleid worden.

Other patterns:

Ik wil tijdens de les niet praten. – I don’t want to talk during the lesson.
Ik wil tijdens de les niet met hem praten. – I don’t want to talk with him during the lesson.

So the structure is: [wil] + [niet] + [infinitive phrase at the end].

Why is it de les and not het les?

In Dutch, les is a de‑word (common gender):

de les – the lesson
de lessen – the lessons

You simply have to learn the noun’s gender with the word:

de tafel (the table)
het boek (the book)
de les (the lesson)

So the correct form is tijdens de les, never tijdens het les.