Zulk advies helpt ons om betere plannen te maken.

Such advice helps us make better plans.

Breakdown of Zulk advies helpt ons om betere plannen te maken.

• om: for
• beter: better
• het plan: the plan
• helpen: to help
• maken: to make
• ons: us
• het advies: the advice
• zulk: such

Questions & Answers about Zulk advies helpt ons om betere plannen te maken.

Why is it zulk advies and not zulke advies?

Because advies is a singular het-word (het advies).
With zulk(e), the ending depends on gender/number:

• zulk
  • singular het-word (indefinite): zulk advies
• zulke
  • singular de-word: zulke man, zulke vraag
• zulke
  • plural (both de/het): zulke adviezen, zulke plannen

So zulk advies is the correct match for het advies.

Is advies countable here, or is it more like “advice” in English?

In this sentence it’s used like English advice: a mass/uncountable idea. Dutch advies can be countable when you mean separate recommendations:

• uncountable: zulk advies (= advice like this, as a general thing)
• countable plural: zulke adviezen (= recommendations like these)

Why is the verb helpt ending in -t?

Because the subject is advies (third person singular). Present tense:

• ik help
• jij/u helpt
• hij/zij/het helpt
• advies helpt
• wij helpen

So Zulk advies helpt ... matches third person singular.

Why is it ons and not wij?

Because ons is the object form (“us”), and wij is the subject form (“we”).
Here, advies is doing the helping, so we are receiving it:

• Zulk advies helpt ons = Such advice helps us.

What is the grammar of helpt ons om ... te ...?

This is a common pattern:

helpen + (object) + om + te + infinitive

It means “help (someone) to do something”:

• helpt ons om ... te maken = helps us to make ...

Is om required here, or can you leave it out?

Often you can omit om in this kind of infinitive clause, especially in shorter sentences:

• Zulk advies helpt ons betere plannen te maken. (also common)

Including om can sound a bit clearer or more explicit, and it’s very standard in writing.

Why is it te maken at the end?

Because Dutch puts the infinitive at (or near) the end of the infinitive clause.
Here the infinitive clause is:

• om betere plannen te maken

The main verb helpt stays in the main clause, and maken goes to the end of the infinitive part.

Why is it betere plannen (with -e)?

Because betere is used before a noun (attributive position), and with a plural noun (plannen) you use the -e ending:

• betere plannen = better plans

Compare:

• predicative (after the verb): De plannen zijn beter. (no -e)
• singular neuter with een: een beter plan (often no -e)
• plural: betere plannen (yes -e)

Could you also say Zulke adviezen helpen ons ... instead?

Yes. That shifts it from “advice (in general)” to “pieces of advice” (countable plural):

• Zulke adviezen helpen ons om betere plannen te maken.
  = Such recommendations help us to make better plans.

Then the verb becomes plural: helpen (not helpt).

Is zulk the only natural way to say “such” here?

It’s very natural, but not the only option. Common alternatives include:

• Dit soort advies helpt ons ... = This kind of advice helps us ...
• Zo’n advies helpt ons ... = Such a piece of advice helps us ... (more spoken)

Zulk advies is slightly more formal/neutral and works well in writing.