De docent wil ons aanmoedigen om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen.

The teacher wants to encourage us to practice Dutch every day.

Breakdown of De docent wil ons aanmoedigen om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen.

• oefenen: to practice
• om: for
• elke: every
• de dag: the day
• willen: to want
• ons: us
• het Nederlands: Dutch
• de docent: the teacher
• aanmoedigen: to encourage

Questions & Answers about De docent wil ons aanmoedigen om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen.

Why is it wil and not wilt with de docent?

The verb willen (to want) is irregular.

Its present-tense forms are:

• ik wil
• jij / je wil or jij / je wilt (both possible)
• u wilt
• hij / zij / het wil
• wij / jullie / zij willen

De docent is grammatically like hij (he) or zij (she), so you must use the hij/zij/het form:

• ✅ De docent wil …
• ❌ De docent wilt … (incorrect in standard Dutch)

This is different from regular verbs, where the 3rd person singular normally ends in -t, e.g. hij maakt (he makes). Modal verbs like willen, kunnen, moeten, mogen, zullen don’t follow that pattern; 1st and 3rd person singular are the same: ik wil / hij wil, ik kan / hij kan, etc.

Why is it ons and not wij?

Dutch makes a clear distinction between subject and object pronouns:

• wij = we (subject)
• ons = us (object), and also “ourselves” in some contexts

In the sentence:

• De docent = subject (the one doing the encouraging)
• ons = object (the ones being encouraged)

So you must use the object form:

• ✅ De docent wil ons aanmoedigen …
• ❌ De docent wil wij aanmoedigen …

Why does ons come before aanmoedigen? Could you say De docent wil aanmoedigen ons?

No, De docent wil aanmoedigen ons is not correct Dutch.

Rule of thumb for this kind of structure:

• In a verb cluster with one or more infinitives (e.g. wil … aanmoedigen), object pronouns like me, je, hem, ons normally come before the infinitives.

So you get:

• ✅ De docent wil ons aanmoedigen.
• ✅ De docent probeert ons te helpen.
• ✅ Hij zal je bellen.

And not:

• ❌ … wil aanmoedigen ons
• ❌ … probeert te helpen ons
• ❌ … zal bellen je

In a simple present tense without extra infinitives, the pattern is different because separable verbs split:

• De docent moedigt ons aan. (finite verb moedigt in 2nd position, particle aan at the end, ons in between)

What kind of verb is aanmoedigen, and why isn’t it split here?

Aanmoedigen is a separable verb:

• infinitive: aanmoedigen
• present simple: ik moedig aan, hij moedigt aan
• perfect: ik heb aangemoedigd

In a main clause with a finite verb, separable verbs split:

• Hij moedigt ons aan.

But when you use the infinitive (as in your sentence, after wil) or the past participle, the parts come back together:

• De docent wil ons aanmoedigen.
• De docent heeft ons aangemoedigd.

So here aanmoedigen appears as one word at the end of the verb cluster because it’s an infinitive, not the finite verb of the main clause.

What is the function of om … te in om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen? Why is om there?

Om … te + infinitive is a very common structure in Dutch. It usually expresses:

• purpose / intention → in order to …

In your sentence:

• om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen
  = in order to practise Dutch every day

So the structure is:

• ons aanmoedigen (encourage us)
  om … te oefenen (in order to practise …)

Leaving out om here is possible in some informal speech, but om is the standard, clear way to introduce this kind of purpose clause after a verb like aanmoedigen. For learners, it’s safest and most natural to include om in this type of sentence.

Why do we say te oefenen here, but in other sentences I see just oefenen without te?

Dutch uses te + infinitive in some structures, but no te in others.

1. After modal / auxiliary verbs (willen, kunnen, moeten, mogen, zullen, gaan, etc.), you usually do not use te:

• Ik wil Nederlands oefenen.
• Ik kan Nederlands spreken.
• We gaan Nederlands leren.

2. In om … te clauses and after certain verbs/adjectives, you must use te:

• Het is belangrijk Nederlands te oefenen.
• Ik probeer Nederlands te oefenen.
• Om beter te worden, moet je veel te oefenen.

In your sentence, oefenen is part of an om … te clause:

• om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen

Here, te is required by that construction. It is not directly governed by wil, so the “no te after modal verbs” rule doesn’t apply to oefenen in this context.

Who is actually doing the practising in om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen?

Grammatically, om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen has no explicit subject. Dutch often uses om … te + infinitive without stating the subject.

We infer the subject from context:

• De docent wil ons aanmoedigen om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen.

We understand this as:

• The teacher wants to encourage us
  so that we practise Dutch every day.

So:

• Subject of aanmoedigen = de docent
• Object of aanmoedigen = ons
• Implied subject of oefenen = ons (we are the ones who practise)

If you want to make it explicit, you can use a finite clause instead:

• De docent wil dat we elke dag Nederlands oefenen.

Can I change the order and say om Nederlands elke dag te oefenen instead of om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen?

You can say om Nederlands elke dag te oefenen, and it’s grammatically possible, but the neutral, most natural order is usually:

• time → object → verb

So:

• ✅ om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen (most typical)
• ◇ om Nederlands elke dag te oefenen (possible, but sounds marked or focusing more on Nederlands)

In simple main clauses you see the same preference:

• Ik oefen elke dag Nederlands. (most natural)
• Ik oefen Nederlands elke dag. (possible, but less neutral)

For learners, it’s good to stick with elke dag before Nederlands as the default pattern.

Why is Nederlands capitalized here?

In Dutch, names of languages are capitalized:

• Nederlands, Engels, Duits, Frans, Spaans, Italiaans, etc.

In your sentence, Nederlands refers to the language, so it gets a capital letter:

• om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen

Compare:

• Ik spreek Nederlands.
• Dit is een Nederlands boek. (here Nederlands is an adjective derived from the language/country name and is also capitalized)

So: when you mean the language “Dutch”, write Nederlands with a capital N.

What exactly does docent mean? Is it the same as “teacher”?

Docent is usually translated as “teacher”, but there are some nuances:

• de docent
  Common in secondary school and higher education (colleges, universities). It can refer to someone who teaches a subject, often not necessarily a primary school teacher.

• de leraar / lerares
  More general word for teacher, and often associated with primary and secondary school.

Other related words:

• de leerkracht – more neutral, often in education contexts, especially for school teachers.
• de professor – specifically a university professor.

Note the false friend: in English, “docent” can mean a museum guide; in Dutch, de docent is simply a teacher/instructor, not a museum guide.

Why is it de docent and not het docent?

In Dutch, every noun is either a de-word (common gender) or a het-word (neuter). You just have to learn which is which.

• docent is a de-word:
  • de docent
  • de leraar
  • de student

Most words referring to people are de-words, regardless of their biological gender:

• de man, de vrouw, de kinderverzorger, de arts, de docent

So:

• ✅ De docent wil ons aanmoedigen …
• ❌ Het docent wil ons aanmoedigen … (incorrect)

Is there another common way to say the same thing in Dutch, and is there any difference in nuance?

A very common alternative is to use a “dat-clause” instead of aanmoedigen om … te:

• De docent wil dat we elke dag Nederlands oefenen.

Comparison:

1. De docent wil ons aanmoedigen om elke dag Nederlands te oefenen.

   • Focus on the act of encouraging us.
   • The purpose of the encouraging is: practising Dutch every day.

2. De docent wil dat we elke dag Nederlands oefenen.

   • Focus more directly on what the teacher wants to happen: that we practise every day.
   • The “encouraging” part is not mentioned explicitly.

Both are natural; they just highlight slightly different aspects (the encouraging vs. the desired habit).