Learn Hardcore Dutch: Ik zal het boek even wegleggen. - I will put the book away for a moment.

Ik zal het boek wegleggen. – I will put the book away. (neutral, a bit bare)
Ik zal het boek even wegleggen. – I’ll just put the book away (real quick / for a moment). (more natural, friendly)

Often you can translate even here with “just”, or sometimes you leave it out in English and express the nuance with tone instead.

Is wegleggen one word or two? How does this verb work?

Wegleggen is a separable verb in Dutch.

The base form (infinitive) is wegleggen (one word).
In the present tense, it usually splits:
- Ik leg het boek weg. – I put the book away.
In the future with zal, the verb appears at the end in its infinitive form (not split):
- Ik zal het boek wegleggen.

So structure here:

Ik – I
zal – will (auxiliary)
het boek – the book (object)
even – softening/“just”
wegleggen – to put away (separable verb, but not split in this tense)

Why is it “Ik zal het boek wegleggen” and not something like “Ik zal weg het boek leggen”?

Dutch has a fairly strict word order for sentences with an auxiliary verb (like zal) plus a main verb (like wegleggen):

Subject – Ik
Conjugated verb (finite verb) – zal
Objects / adverbs – het boek even
Full infinitive (main verb) – wegleggen

So:

Ik (subject)
zal (finite verb)
het boek even (object + adverb)
wegleggen (infinitive at the end)

Putting weg and leggen in two places like “Ik zal weg het boek leggen” is incorrect; the separable parts only split in simple tenses like Ik leg het boek weg, not when the verb is in infinitive form at the end.

Could you say “Ik leg het boek even weg” instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, Ik leg het boek even weg is completely correct and very natural.

Difference:

Ik leg het boek even weg.
- Simple present tense. Often used for something you’re doing right now or about to do immediately.
- Implied meaning in everyday speech: I’m (just) putting the book away (now).
Ik zal het boek even wegleggen.
- Future form / modal nuance with zal.
- Can sound more like a spontaneous decision, offer, or promise:
  - “I’ll just put the book away (then).”

In many contexts, both are possible; zal is slightly more like English “I’ll …” as a response or offer.

What is the nuance of zal here compared to ga (as in Ik ga het boek wegleggen)?

Both can talk about future or upcoming actions, but they feel different:

Ik zal het boek even wegleggen.
- Often like English “I’ll just put the book away.”
- Sounds like:
  - a decision made at the moment,
  - an offer, or
  - a polite promise.
Ik ga het boek even wegleggen.
- More like “I am going to put the book away.”
- Focuses a bit more on the plan / intention, and often suggests you’re about to do it very soon.

In everyday speech, both are common; choice depends on slight nuance and personal style rather than strict rules.

Can even go somewhere else in the sentence, like “Ik zal even het boek wegleggen”?

Yes, you sometimes see Ik zal even het boek wegleggen, and it’s understandable, but the most neutral and common position here is:

Ik zal het boek even wegleggen.

General tendencies:

even usually comes after the direct object when that object is a simple noun:
- Ik zal het boek even wegleggen.
When the object is long or complex, you may move even:
- Ik zal even jouw zware tas met al die boeken wegleggen.

So:

Ik zal het boek even wegleggen. – most natural here
Ik zal even het boek wegleggen. – possible, but sounds slightly marked; native speakers prefer the first version.

Why is it het boek and not de boek?

Dutch has two main grammatical genders for nouns:

de-words (common gender)
het-words (neuter)

Boek is a het-word, so:

het boek – the book
een boek – a book

This gender is mostly something you have to memorize with each noun. There is no simple rule that predicts that boek takes het, although many diminutives and some abstract/foreign words take het. For normal nouns, you really learn them as het boek, de tafel, de stoel, etc.

Could I replace het boek with a pronoun? How would the sentence change?

Yes, if the book has already been mentioned, you can replace het boek with the pronoun het:

Ik zal het even wegleggen. – I’ll just put it away.

Word order:

het (object pronoun) comes right after the finite verb zal:
- Ik zal het even wegleggen. (correct)
- Ik zal even het wegleggen. (incorrect)

So structure is:

Ik (subject)
zal (finite verb)
het (object pronoun)
even (softening adverb)
wegleggen (infinitive)

Is wegleggen different from neerleggen or opbergen?

Yes, they are related but have different nuances:

wegleggen – to put something away, out of the way, usually not its final place, but “not here in the way”:
- Ik zal het boek even wegleggen. – I’ll put the book away (so it’s not in the way).
neerleggen – to put something down, focusing on the action/place of laying it down:
- Ik leg het boek op tafel neer. – I put the book down on the table.
opbergen – to store something properly, in its usual place:
- Ik zal het boek opbergen. – I’ll put the book away (in its proper storage place).

In everyday talk, wegleggen often suggests a casual, temporary “out of the way” action.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Would it be okay in polite Dutch?

Ik zal het boek even wegleggen is neutral and perfectly polite. The elements:

Ik zal … – fine in both informal and formal contexts
even – informal in tone but extremely common; it doesn’t make the sentence rude
The whole sentence could be said to:
- a friend,
- a colleague,
- a stranger in most everyday situations.

For very formal written Dutch you might skip even, but in spoken language this sentence is fully acceptable and sounds natural.