Breakdown of Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar tijdschema, zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt.
Questions & Answers about Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar tijdschema, zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt.
Zij and ze are both “she” or “they” as a subject.
- Zij is the stressed / emphasized form.
- Ze is the unstressed / neutral form.
In this sentence, Zij plant elke dag… could slightly emphasize she (as opposed to someone else) or just be a neutral stylistic choice. You could also say:
- Ze plant elke dag een korte pauze…
Both are grammatically correct. In speech, ze is more common unless you need emphasis.
Yes, planten can mean “to plant” (a tree, a flower), but plannen is the regular verb for “to plan”.
However, in colloquial Dutch, planten is often used with the meaning “to schedule / to put in (the calendar)”. So:
- Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze
≈ She schedules / puts in a short break every day.
It’s a bit informal. Very “safe” and neutral would be:
- Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in. (separable verb inplannen)
- Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar tijdschema.
- Or: Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar schema.
So here plant is understood as “puts/schedules”, not literally “plants in the ground”.
All three are possible and common:
- elke dag = every day
- iedere dag = every day (slightly more formal or “fuller” in style)
- dagelijks = daily
You could say:
- Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze…
- Zij plant iedere dag een korte pauze…
- Zij plant dagelijks een korte pauze in haar tijdschema…
They differ mostly in style, not in meaning.
In Dutch, adjectives normally come before the noun, just like in English:
- een korte pauze = a short break
- een druk schema = a busy schedule
- een goed boek = a good book
Putting the adjective after the noun (een pauze korte) is wrong in this context. Adjectives after the noun only appear in very specific constructions (e.g. after certain verbs: De pauze is kort = The break is short).
Prepositions in Dutch are often idiomatic, like in English.
- in haar tijdschema = literally “in her schedule/timetable”, meaning “inside / within” that structure.
- op is used more for physical surfaces or lists:
- op de lijst (on the list)
- op het bord (on the board)
Here, we imagine the break as fitting into her overall schedule, so in haar tijdschema is natural.
You might also hear:
- in haar schema
- in haar agenda (in her diary/planner)
Op haar tijdschema would sound odd in standard Dutch in this context.
Zodat introduces a subordinate clause (a dependent clause that explains purpose or result). In standard written Dutch:
- You normally put a comma before most subordinating conjunctions when they follow a complete main clause.
So:
- Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar tijdschema, zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt.
Main clause: Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar tijdschema
Subordinate clause: zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt
In very informal writing the comma is sometimes omitted, but in careful writing it’s preferred.
They all relate to cause/reason/result, but they are used differently.
zodat = so that, in order that, with the result that
- Focus on result or intended outcome.
- Zij plant… zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt.
→ She schedules breaks so that she doesn’t get too stressed.
dus = so, therefore
- Connects two statements; the second is a conclusion.
- Ze raakt snel gestrest, dus ze plant elke dag een pauze.
→ She gets stressed quickly, so she schedules a break every day.
omdat = because (subordinating)
- Introduces the reason. Verb at the end.
- Ze plant elke dag een pauze omdat ze snel gestrest raakt.
want = because/for (coordinating)
- Also gives a reason, but no verb-final word order.
- Ze plant elke dag een pauze, want ze raakt snel gestrest.
In the original sentence, zodat is right because we talk about the goal/result of scheduling the break.
Because zodat introduces a subordinate clause, and in Dutch subordinate clauses:
- The finite verb goes to the end of the clause.
So:
- Main clause: Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze in haar tijdschema
→ verb plant is in the second position. - Subordinate clause: zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt
→ verb raakt goes at the end.
This verb-final rule applies with other conjunctions like omdat, hoewel, als, wanneer, etc.:
- … omdat ze snel gestrest raakt.
- … als ze te gestrest raakt.
- gestrest = stressed
- te gestrest = too stressed (excessively stressed)
The te here is the same as “too” in English when talking about too much of something:
- te druk = too busy
- te moe = too tired
- te warm = too warm
So niet te gestrest = not too stressed (she may have some stress, but it shouldn’t become excessive).
You could also say:
- zodat ze niet gestrest raakt = so that she doesn’t become stressed at all (slightly different nuance).
Yes, raken can mean to hit or to touch, but it has another very common meaning: “to get / to become (a certain state)” when used with adjectives or certain nouns.
Examples:
- in paniek raken = to get / become panicked
- gewond raken = to get injured
- haar sleutels kwijtraken = to lose her keys
- gestrest raken = to become stressed
So ze raakt gestrest ≈ she becomes stressed.
In the sentence: zodat ze niet te gestrest raakt = so that she doesn’t get too stressed.
Yes, that is correct Dutch too.
Dutch allows some flexible word order in main clauses, as long as the finite verb stays in the second position:
- Zij plant elke dag een korte pauze…
- Elke dag plant zij een korte pauze…
- In haar tijdschema plant zij elke dag een korte pauze…
All are grammatical. The part you put first gets a bit more emphasis or focus.
The key rule: in a main clause, the finite verb (plant) must be the second element.
Haar = her
Zijn = his (or its for some neuter nouns)
The subject is Zij (she), so the possessive must match that:
- Zij plant… in haar tijdschema. = She schedules… in her schedule.
If the subject were a man:
- Hij plant elke dag een korte pauze in zijn tijdschema.
= He schedules a short break every day in his schedule.
All of these exist, but they’re used a bit differently:
- tijdschema = time schedule / timetable
- Neutral; shows allocation of time.
- schema = schedule, outline, diagram, plan
- Quite general; in haar schema is also fine and common.
- rooster = timetable / roster
- Often used for fixed schedules like school timetables or work shifts: lesrooster, werkrooster.
- planning = planning / schedule (more about the planning process)
- in haar planning is possible, often in a more work/project context.
In this sentence, the most neutral alternatives would be:
- in haar tijdschema
- in haar schema
- (in some contexts) in haar planning
Rooster would be less likely unless you mean a very fixed, institutional timetable.
The standard modern Dutch spelling is:
- gestrest
Forms like gestresst or gestressed are non‑standard (influenced by English) and should be avoided in correct writing.
So: niet te gestrest raakt is the correct and natural spelling.