Ik begin te geeuwen, want het is laat.

Because Dutch often uses beginnen + te + infinitive to mean to begin/start doing something.

• Ik begin te geeuwen = I begin to yawn
• te here works a bit like English to before an infinitive.

More examples:

• Ik begin te lachen = I begin to laugh
• Hij begint te werken = He starts working

So te geeuwen is not a separate tense; it is just the infinitive geeuwen used after beginnen.

Because the verb must agree with the subject.

The subject is ik = I, so the present tense form is:

• ik begin
• jij begint
• hij/zij begint

So:

• Ik begin te geeuwen = correct
• Ik begint te geeuwen = incorrect

This is a common pattern in Dutch: with ik, the verb usually has no -t ending in the present tense.

Geeuwen means to yawn.

Related forms:

• ik geeuw = I yawn
• een geeuw = a yawn

So in this sentence, te geeuwen means to yawn.

Roughly, geeuwen sounds something like KHAY-uh-wuhn, but not exactly like English sounds.

A few helpful points:

• g in standard Dutch is usually a throaty sound, not the English g in go
• eeuw is a tricky vowel combination for English speakers
• The stress is on the first syllable: GEEU-wen

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away, but it helps to listen to native audio because eeuw is not a common English sound combination.

Want means because, and it introduces a reason.

Here:

• Ik begin te geeuwen = I’m starting to yawn
• want het is laat = because it is late

So the second part explains the reason for the first part.

A useful note:

• want is a coordinating conjunction
• It does not change normal word order after it

That is why you get:

• want het is laat

not:

• want het laat is

Both can mean because, but they behave differently in grammar.

With want:

• normal main-clause word order stays the same
• Ik begin te geeuwen, want het is laat.

With omdat:

• the verb usually goes to the end of the clause
• Ik begin te geeuwen, omdat het laat is.

So both are possible, but the structure changes:

• want het is laat
• omdat het laat is

For learners, this is one of the most important differences to notice.

Because want connects two main clauses:

• Ik begin te geeuwen
• het is laat

In Dutch, a comma is normally used before want when it joins clauses like this.

So:

• Ik begin te geeuwen, want het is laat. = correct

Here het is an impersonal subject, like English it in it is late.

It does not refer to a specific object. It is just the normal way to make this kind of statement about time, weather, and general situations.

Compare:

• Het is laat. = It is late.
• Het is koud. = It is cold.
• Het regent. = It is raining.

So het here is grammatical, not a thing you can point to.

Because laat is the basic form of the adjective here.

In het is laat, the adjective comes after the verb is, so it is a predicate adjective. In that position, Dutch adjectives usually do not take an extra ending.

Compare:

• Het is laat. = It is late.
• een late trein = a late train

So:

• after is: laat
• before a noun: often late

Because want does not send the verb to the end.

Dutch main clauses usually have the finite verb in second position:

• Ik begin te geeuwen
• het is laat

After want, the second clause stays a main clause:

• want het is laat

This is different from subordinating conjunctions such as omdat, where the verb moves:

• omdat het laat is

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Ik begin te geeuwen = I am starting to yawn / I begin to yawn
• Ik ben aan het geeuwen = I am yawning

So:

• begin te geeuwen focuses on the start
• ben aan het geeuwen focuses on the action in progress

Both are natural, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.