Learn Hardcore Dutch: Met het overzicht kunnen wij de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden. - With the overview we can remember the new words better.

Dutch has a verb‑second (V2) rule in main clauses: the finite verb (here kunnen) almost always comes in second position, no matter what comes first.

You can put different parts of the sentence in first position for emphasis or style:

Met het overzicht kunnen wij de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden.
→ Emphasis on the overview: With the overview, we can…
Wij kunnen met het overzicht de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden.
→ Neutral, emphasis on wij (we).
De nieuwe woorden kunnen wij met het overzicht beter onthouden.
→ Emphasis on de nieuwe woorden.

All of these are grammatically correct. Starting with Met het overzicht just highlights that the overview is the helpful tool.

Why is it kunnen wij and not wij kunnen after Met het overzicht?

Because of the V2 rule:

First position: Met het overzicht (a prepositional phrase).
Second position: the finite verb → kunnen.
Then the subject → wij.

So the order becomes:

Met het overzicht – kunnen – wij – …

If the sentence started with Wij, it would be:

Wij kunnen met het overzicht de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden.

There you see wij in first position and kunnen in second. Whichever element you put first, the conjugated verb must stay second.

What is the difference between wij and we here?

Both mean we and are grammatically correct; the difference is style and emphasis:

wij
- More emphatic
- Often used when you contrast with someone else:
  - Wij kunnen dat wel, maar zij niet.
- Sounds a bit more careful/formal in many contexts.
we
- More neutral and common in everyday speech.
- In this sentence, Met het overzicht kunnen we de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden is what you would hear most often in normal conversation.

So you can use either, but we is usually more natural in spoken Dutch here.

Why is it het overzicht and not de overzicht?

In Dutch, nouns are either de-words (common gender) or het-words (neuter gender). The word overzicht happens to be a het-word, so it takes het as its definite article:

het overzicht (the overview)
het huis (the house)
de tafel (the table)

There is no simple rule that tells you the gender from the form of overzicht; you generally need to learn each noun with its article, e.g.:

het overzicht
de lijst (the list)
de samenvatting (the summary)

Dictionaries mark this with het or de after the noun.

Why is it de nieuwe woorden and not het nieuwe woorden?

Because woorden is plural.

In Dutch:

All plural nouns always take de, regardless of whether the singular is de or het.
- het woord → de woorden
- de tafel → de tafels

So:

singular: het woord (the word)
plural: de woorden (the words)

With an adjective:

de nieuwe woorden = the new words

That is why de is correct here.

Why is beter placed before onthouden? Could I say onthouden beter?

In this sentence, beter is an adverb modifying the verb onthouden.

Normal word order at the end of a Dutch main clause is:

[object/complements] + [adverbs] + [infinitive(s)/main verb(s)]

So:

de nieuwe woorden (object)
beter (adverb)
onthouden (infinitive / main verb)

→ de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden

Putting beter after the verb (… de nieuwe woorden onthouden beter) is not standard. You would only move beter elsewhere for special emphasis in spoken Dutch, but then you usually move it earlier, not after the infinitive.

Also, note:

goed → beter is the normal comparative.
You do not say meer goed onthouden for remember better; you say beter onthouden.

Why is it beter and not something like meer goed?

Dutch forms most comparatives by changing the adjective/adverb itself, just like English:

goed → beter (good → better)
slecht → slechter (bad → worse)
graag → liever (gladly → rather / prefer)

So:

Wij kunnen de nieuwe woorden goed onthouden.
→ We can remember the new words well.
Wij kunnen de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden.
→ We can remember the new words better.

Meer goed would sound wrong here; the correct comparative of goed is beter, not meer goed.

Can I also say Met het overzicht kunnen we beter de nieuwe woorden onthouden?

Yes, that is possible, but the default / most neutral word order is:

Met het overzicht kunnen we de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden.

In Dutch, the typical order towards the end of the clause is:

Direct object: de nieuwe woorden
Adverb: beter
Infinitive/main verb: onthouden

So:

… de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden

You can say:

Met het overzicht kunnen we beter de nieuwe woorden onthouden

but that slightly emphasizes beter (the improvement) more than the object. It is not wrong, just a bit marked in terms of emphasis. For learners, it is safer to stick with:

… de nieuwe woorden beter onthouden.

Why is the infinitive just onthouden without a word like to in front of it?

English has to for the infinitive (to remember). Dutch does not use an extra particle like to here. The infinitive is simply the base verb form:

onthouden = (to) remember
leren = (to) learn
spreken = (to) speak

After a modal verb like kunnen, Dutch uses the bare infinitive:

wij kunnen onthouden (we can remember)
ik wil leren (I want to learn)
zij moet spreken (she must speak)

So onthouden alone is the correct infinitive form.

Is onthouden related to houden as in a separable verb like vasthouden?

Onthouden and houden are historically related, but in modern Dutch:

onthouden is treated as one inseparable verb, meaning to remember.
It does not split like separable verbs such as vasthouden (to hold on), ophouden, aandoen, etc.

For separable verbs, you get patterns like:

Ik houd het vast.
(Infinitive: vasthouden)

But for onthouden, you never split on and houden in normal usage:

Ik kan het goed onthouden.
(not: Ik kan het goed houden on or similar)

So you can just memorize onthouden as a single, regular verb meaning to remember.