Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tom stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit, waardoor hij vlak voor de deadline extra gestrest raakt. - Tom keeps postponing his homework, which makes him extra stressed right before the deadline.

The infinitive is uitstellen = to postpone / to put off.
In a main clause with a finite verb, Dutch usually splits separable verbs:
- Tom stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit.
  - stelt = conjugated verb (3rd person singular)
  - uit = particle, moved to the end of the clause

In a subordinate clause, the parts come back together at the end:

...dat Tom zijn huiswerk steeds uitstelt.
- uitstelt stays in one piece.

So, stelt … uit is just the normal main-clause form of uitstellen.

What does steeds mean here, and how is it different from altijd?

In this sentence, steeds means repeatedly, again and again, all the time.

Tom stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit.
- Suggests a repeated, habitual action: he keeps doing it.

Comparison:

altijd = always (more absolute)
- Hij is altijd te laat. – He is always late.
steeds = repeatedly / continually / more and more (context decides)
- Hij komt steeds te laat. – He keeps being late / comes late again and again.

Here steeds focuses on the repetition of the behaviour rather than an absolute always.

How does waardoor work here? Is it like omdat or dus?

Waardoor literally combines waar (what/which) + door (through/by), and here it introduces a result/consequence clause:

Tom stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit, waardoor hij vlak voor de deadline extra gestrest raakt.
- Tom keeps putting off his homework, *as a result of which he gets extra stressed right before the deadline.*

Functionally:

It’s closer to “which causes him to…” or “and because of that…” than to a simple “because”.
It links the first clause (cause) to the second clause (result) in a fairly formal, written style.

Comparison:

omdat = because (introduces the cause of what comes before/after):
- Hij raakt extra gestrest, omdat hij zijn huiswerk steeds uitstelt.
dus = so, therefore (standalone conjunction showing result):
- Hij stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit, dus hij raakt extra gestrest.
waardoor = by which / as a result of which (relative + causal):
- Very natural in written Dutch, a bit more formal than dus.

Why does the verb raakt come at the end of waardoor hij vlak voor de deadline extra gestrest raakt?

Because waardoor introduces a subordinate clause, and in Dutch subordinate clauses the finite verb normally goes to the end.

Structure:

waardoor (subordinator)
hij (subject)
vlak voor de deadline (time phrase)
extra gestrest (predicate/adjective phrase)
raakt (finite verb at the end)

Pattern: [subordinator] + subject + (other stuff) + verb

Other examples:

omdat hij moe is – because he is tired
dat hij vaak te laat komt – that he often arrives late

So raakt is at the end because the clause is grammatically dependent on the first part of the sentence.

What does raakt mean here? Why not just use is or wordt?

Here, raakt (from raken) means to get / to become (to end up in a certain state):

hij raakt extra gestrest ≈ he gets extra stressed / he becomes extra stressed.

Subtle differences:

hij is gestrest – he is stressed (state, description)
hij wordt gestrest – he is becoming stressed (process, neutral)
hij raakt gestrest – he ends up stressed / he gets stressed (often with a nuance of as a result of something or growing into that state)

In this context, raakt emphasizes that his habit leads him into this stressed state, which fits well with the cause–effect relation expressed by waardoor.

Is gestrest an adjective or a past participle, and why is extra before it?

Gestrest (also often spelled gestresst) functions as an adjective meaning stressed.

It comes from the English loan stress, plus the Dutch participle prefix ge-, but in modern Dutch it’s used like a normal adjective:
- een gestreste student – a stressed student
- ik ben gestrest – I am stressed

In extra gestrest:

extra functions as an adverb modifying the adjective gestrest.
This literally means “extra stressed” = more stressed than usual.

Word order: adverb (extra) usually comes before the adjective it modifies:

heel moe – very tired
erg blij – very happy
extra gestrest – extra stressed

What does vlak voor mean, and how is it different from just voor?

Vlak voor means “right before / just before”, adding a sense of closeness in time or space.

vlak voor de deadline – right before the deadline / just before the deadline

Comparison:

voor de deadline – before the deadline (any time before; neutral)
vlak voor de deadline – very close to the deadline; at the last moment or shortly before.

So vlak adds an extra nuance of immediacy/proximity: not long before, but very close to it.

Why is it zijn huiswerk and not something like a plural? Can huiswerk be plural in Dutch?

In Dutch, huiswerk is usually a mass noun, like homework in English:

zijn huiswerk – his homework
Ik heb veel huiswerk. – I have a lot of homework.

Normally, you do not make it plural in everyday speech:

❌ zijn huiswerken (sounds odd in most contexts)
✅ zijn huiswerkopdrachten – his homework assignments (if you really mean several separate tasks)

So zijn huiswerk is the standard way to say his homework in Dutch.

Where does steeds belong in the sentence? Could you say Tom stelt steeds zijn huiswerk uit instead?

Yes, you could say Tom stelt steeds zijn huiswerk uit, and it would still be correct and understandable. However, the given word order is more common and natural:

Tom stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit. (very natural)
Tom stelt steeds zijn huiswerk uit. (also possible)

General idea:

Adverbs like steeds, vaak, altijd have some flexibility.
A common pattern is:
- subject + verb + direct object + adverb + verb particle
- Tom stelt zijn huiswerk steeds uit.

Your alternative gives a slightly stronger emphasis on steeds (the frequency), but the difference is subtle.

How would this sentence change in a fully subordinate structure, for example after omdat or dat?

If you embed the ideas in subordinate clauses, two main things happen:

The separable verb uitstellen is no longer split.
The finite verb in each subordinate clause moves to the end.

Examples:

With omdat (because):
- Hij raakt vlak voor de deadline extra gestrest, omdat hij zijn huiswerk steeds uitstelt.
  - uitstelt (one word) at the end of the omdat-clause.
With dat (that):
- Het probleem is dat Tom zijn huiswerk steeds uitstelt, waardoor hij vlak voor de deadline extra gestrest raakt.
  - uitstelt at the end of the dat-clause.
  - raakt at the end of the waardoor-clause.

So in subordinate clauses, you see uitstellen as uitstelt (together) at the clause end, not split as stelt … uit.