Anna wil Tom geruststellen.

Anna wants to reassure Tom.

Breakdown of Anna wil Tom geruststellen.

• Anna: Anna
• Tom: Tom
• willen: to want
• geruststellen: to reassure

Questions & Answers about Anna wil Tom geruststellen.

Why is the word order Anna wil Tom geruststellen and not something like Anna wil geruststellen Tom?

Dutch main clauses normally follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (the conjugated one) must be in second position in the sentence.

• Anna wil Tom geruststellen.
  
  • Anna = first element
  • wil = finite verb, second position
  • Tom geruststellen = the rest of the sentence (object + infinitive)

With a modal verb like willen, the infinitive (geruststellen) goes to (near) the end of the clause. So:

• Subject – finite verb – objects/adverbs – infinitive
  → Anna wil Tom geruststellen.

Putting geruststellen before Tom (Anna wil geruststellen Tom) breaks normal Dutch word order and is incorrect.

What exactly is geruststellen? Is it one verb or two words?

Geruststellen is one verb in its basic form, meaning to reassure.

It is a separable verb:

• Base infinitive (dictionary form): geruststellen
• In a normal present-tense sentence it splits:
  • Anna stelt Tom gerust. – Anna reassures Tom.
    
    • stelt = conjugated form of stellen
    • gerust moves to the end

With a modal verb like wil, the verb appears as one word again (infinitive form):

• Anna wil Tom geruststellen. – Anna wants to reassure Tom.

So:

• With a simple tense → stelt … gerust
• With a modal → geruststellen (one word at the end)

Why is it wil and not wilt in Anna wil Tom geruststellen?

The verb willen (to want) is irregular. Present tense:

• ik wil – I want
• jij / je wilt – you (singular, informal) want
• u wilt – you (formal) want
• hij / zij / het wil – he / she / it wants
• wij / jullie / zij willen – we / you (plural) / they want

Because Anna is third person singular (she), you use:

• Anna wil … (no -t here)

So:

• Correct: Anna wil Tom geruststellen.
• Incorrect: Anna wilt Tom geruststellen.

Why is there no to in front of geruststellen, like in English to reassure?

Dutch infinitives normally have no separate word like English “to”.

• English: to reassure
• Dutch: geruststellen

Sometimes Dutch uses te before an infinitive, but not after modal verbs like willen, kunnen, moeten, mogen, zullen:

• Anna wil Tom geruststellen. – Anna wants to reassure Tom. (no te)
• Anna probeert Tom gerust te stellen. – Anna tries to reassure Tom. (here te is used)

So:
After wil (and other modals): no te → wil geruststellen, not wil te geruststellen.

Is Tom a direct object or an indirect object here, and why is there no preposition?

In Anna wil Tom geruststellen, Tom is the direct object (the person who is being reassured).

The verb iemand geruststellen (to reassure someone) takes its object without a preposition:

• Anna stelt Tom gerust. – Anna reassures Tom.
  → Tom = direct object

You only need a preposition if you add more detail, for example what he is being reassured about:

• Anna wil Tom over het examen geruststellen.
  – Anna wants to reassure Tom about the exam.
  
  • Tom = direct object
  • over het examen = prepositional phrase

What is the difference between Anna wil Tom geruststellen and Anna stelt Tom gerust?

They are different in time/aspect:

• Anna stelt Tom gerust.
  – Anna is reassuring Tom / Anna reassures Tom.
  → This describes the action actually happening (or generally happening).

• Anna wil Tom geruststellen.
  – Anna wants to reassure Tom.
  → This describes her desire or intention, not the action itself.

So wil … geruststellen talks about what she wants, while stelt … gerust talks about what she actually does.

How would the sentence change if I replace Tom with a pronoun like him?

The object pronoun for Tom (masculine person) is hem.

Examples:

• Anna wil hem geruststellen.
  – Anna wants to reassure him.

Note the word order:

• Subject – finite verb – pronoun – infinitive
  → Anna wil hem geruststellen.

You cannot move hem after geruststellen:

• Incorrect: Anna wil geruststellen hem.

How does negation work here? Where do I put niet?

To negate Anna wil Tom geruststellen, you usually place niet before the infinitive (after the object):

• Anna wil Tom niet geruststellen.
  – Anna does not want to reassure Tom.

Rough structure:

• Subject – finite verb – object – niet – infinitive
  → Anna wil Tom niet geruststellen.

If you want to negate something else (for example Tom, not the wanting), you would need a different context, but for simple not wanting to reassure, the position above is standard.

How do I say this in the past tense?

There are two relevant past forms:

1. Past of the wanting (modal)

   • Anna wilde Tom geruststellen.
     – Anna wanted to reassure Tom.

2. Past of actually reassuring (full verb)

   • Anna stelde Tom gerust.
     – Anna reassured Tom.
   • Perfect tense: Anna heeft Tom gerustgesteld.
     – Anna has reassured Tom.

Notice how in the perfect tense with a separable verb:

• The past participle is gerustgesteld (prefix + ge + stem + d/t)
• It stays together at the end: … heeft Tom gerustgesteld.