Learn Hardcore Dutch: Mijn motivatie is hoog, omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen. - My motivation is high because I want to get my diploma next year.

In the part omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen, why do the verbs wil and halen go to the end of the clause instead of after the subject like in English?

In Dutch, omdat introduces a subordinate clause. In subordinate clauses, the finite verb (the conjugated verb) goes to the end of the clause.

Main clause (verb in 2nd position):
Mijn motivatie is hoog.
Subject = Mijn motivatie, finite verb = is (2nd position)
Subordinate clause (verb at the end) after omdat:
omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen
Subject = ik, other elements, then verb cluster at the end = wil halen

Because there are two verbs (wil = want, halen = to get), they form a verb cluster at the end of the subordinate clause. The order wil halen is the normal modern order.

So:

English: because I *want to get my diploma next year*
Dutch: omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen (…subject + other info + wil halen at the end)

What is the difference between omdat and want, since both mean because?

Both omdat and want often translate as because, but they behave differently:

Grammar:
- omdat is a subordinating conjunction. It starts a subordinate clause and sends the verb to the end:
  - Ik ben gemotiveerd, omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen.
- want is a coordinating conjunction. It connects two main clauses and does not change word order:
  - Ik ben gemotiveerd, want ik wil volgend jaar mijn diploma halen.
Word order test:
- With omdat, you can put the clause in front:
  - Omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen, is mijn motivatie hoog.
- With want, you cannot do this:
  - ✗ Want ik wil volgend jaar mijn diploma halen, is mijn motivatie hoog. (wrong)
Style / nuance:
- omdat is neutral and works in all registers.
- want is a bit more conversational, like English “because / for” in explanations.

In your sentence, omdat is used, so the reason is in a subordinate clause and the verbs go to the end: …omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen.

Why is halen used for “getting a diploma”? Wouldn’t krijgen be more like “to get”?

Literal meanings can be misleading here. In Dutch, certain verbs are used in fixed combinations:

je diploma halen = to obtain/pass/get your degree
je rijbewijs halen = to get/pass your driving licence
een examen halen = to pass an exam

So in mijn diploma wil halen, halen means to obtain by successfully completing something, not to fetch from somewhere.

You can say een diploma krijgen, but that focuses more on receiving it (physically, or as a result), while een diploma halen focuses on achieving/passing. In practice, for studies, diploma halen is the standard idiom.

Why is it wil halen (want to get) and not something like zal halen (will get) or a special future tense?

Dutch doesn’t use a separate future tense as often as English. Several points:

Present tense + time expression is very common for the future:
- Ik haal volgend jaar mijn diploma.
  = I will get my diploma next year.
wil halen expresses desire/intention, not just future time:
- ik wil … halen = I want to get …
  This matches the idea of motivation in the main clause: My motivation is high because I *want to get my diploma…*
zal is possible but has a different nuance:
- omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma zal halen
  sounds like a confident prediction: because I will (definitely) get my diploma next year, less about what you want, more about what you think will happen.
ga halen is also possible:
- omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma ga halen
  = because I’m going to get my diploma next year, more about a plan / expectation.

In this context, wil halen is natural because the sentence is about motivation and wanting.

Can volgend jaar go somewhere else in the clause, like omdat ik mijn diploma volgend jaar wil halen?

Yes, Dutch word order inside the clause is somewhat flexible, and both are correct:

omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen
omdat ik mijn diploma volgend jaar wil halen

Both are grammatical. Subordinate clauses generally have:

subject – (time / other info) – (object) – verb cluster

The choice affects emphasis slightly:

Version 1 (volgend jaar earlier) makes the time frame more prominent right after ik.
Version 2 may sound like a bit more focus on mijn diploma, then adding volgend jaar as extra info.

In everyday speech, both word orders are very common. There is no change in basic meaning.

Why is it Mijn motivatie is hoog and not something like Mijn motivatie is grote or sterke?

Three separate issues here: adjective choice, and the form of the adjective.

hoog vs groot vs sterk
Dutch often uses hoog (high) with abstract measurable things:
- mijn motivatie is hoog
- de prijs is hoog (the price is high)
- de verwachtingen zijn hoog (the expectations are high)
groot (big) is possible, but a bit less standard here:
- mijn motivatie is groot (understandable, sometimes used)
sterk (strong) is also possible:
- mijn motivatie is sterk
  = my motivation is strong
So you might hear hoog, groot, or sterk with motivatie; hoog and sterk are the most idiomatic.
Why hoog, not hoge / grote / sterke?
After zijn (to be), the adjective is predicative (describing the subject), and it usually does not take the -e ending:
- De motivatie is hoog.
- De taak is moeilijk.
- Het huis is duur.
With a noun after the adjective (attributive use), you do get the -e in most cases:
- de hoge motivatie
- de sterke motivatie
- de moeilijke taak

So Mijn motivatie is hoog is correct; Mijn hoge motivatie would also be correct, but that’s a slightly different structure (adjective before the noun).

Why is it mijn motivatie is hoog and not de motivatie is hoog?

In English, you might say:

My motivation is high
or
The motivation is high (for example, in a group)

In Dutch:

Mijn motivatie is hoog
→ personal, clearly about your motivation.
De motivatie is hoog
→ more general, e.g. in a team: The motivation (of the group) is high.

If you are just talking about yourself, using the possessive pronoun mijn is natural and common. Similarly:

mijn diploma (my diploma)
mijn auto (my car)

Using de motivatie without mijn would sound like you’re talking about motivation in a broader context (a class, a team, a group).

Why is it mijn motivatie is hoog and not is mijn motivatie hoog?

Dutch has a verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses: the finite verb generally comes in the second position.

There are two neutral patterns:

Normal statement (subject first):
- Mijn motivatie is hoog.
  (subject Mijn motivatie in first position, verb is in second)
Inversion (something else first):
- Vandaag is mijn motivatie hoog.
  (time word Vandaag in first position, verb is second, subject mijn motivatie then follows)

If you say Is mijn motivatie hoog? with the verb first, it becomes a yes/no question:

Is mijn motivatie hoog? = Is my motivation high?

So for a statement, Mijn motivatie is hoog is the standard order.

Why is there a comma before omdat in Mijn motivatie is hoog, omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen? Is it required?

In Dutch, the comma before omdat is optional but very common when the sentence is long or when you want to clearly separate reason and result.

Mijn motivatie is hoog, omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen.
Mijn motivatie is hoog omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen.

Both are grammatically correct.

The comma can:

make the sentence easier to read,
reflect a small pause in speech,
emphasize the logical separation: result (high motivation) vs. reason (wanting to get the diploma).

Unlike in some strict writing styles in English, Dutch punctuation rules are more flexible with commas before conjunctions like omdat, want, maar, etc.

Can I start the sentence with the omdat-clause, like Omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen, is mijn motivatie hoog?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and very natural Dutch.

When you put the omdat-clause first:

Omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen, is mijn motivatie hoog.

Two things happen:

The omdat-clause still has verb-final order:
omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen
In the main clause that follows, you must respect V2 (verb in second position). The entire omdat-clause counts as “position 1”, so the verb is comes right after it:
- …, is mijn motivatie hoog. not ✗ …, mijn motivatie is hoog.

So both orders are correct:

Mijn motivatie is hoog, omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen.
Omdat ik volgend jaar mijn diploma wil halen, is mijn motivatie hoog.

The second version slightly emphasizes the reason more.