Doordat het fietspad na de bocht heel smal wordt, moeten sommige mensen daar even stoppen.

Doordat means because, but it usually points to a cause that leads to a result.

In this sentence:

• Doordat het fietspad ... heel smal wordt
• literally: Because the bike path becomes very narrow ...

A useful distinction is:

• omdat = because, giving a reason
• doordat = because, emphasizing cause and result

So here, doordat fits well because the narrow bike path causes the next thing to happen: people have to stop.

In everyday Dutch, people sometimes use omdat where doordat might also be possible, but doordat sounds especially natural when one event directly leads to another.

Because doordat introduces a subordinate clause.

In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb usually goes to the end. So:

• het fietspad wordt heel smal = main clause
• doordat het fietspad na de bocht heel smal wordt = subordinate clause

That is why wordt comes at the end.

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in Dutch:

• main clause: verb usually in second position
• subordinate clause: verb usually at the end

Because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause, and then the main clause follows.

Normal main-clause order would be:

• Sommige mensen moeten daar even stoppen.

But when another element comes first, Dutch uses inversion:

• Doordat ... , moeten sommige mensen daar even stoppen.

So after the opening clause, the finite verb moeten comes before the subject sommige mensen.

This is very common in Dutch:

• Vandaag ga ik naar huis.
• Als het regent, blijf ik thuis.
• Doordat ..., moeten sommige mensen ...

Because fietspad is a het-word in Dutch.

Dutch nouns take either:

• de
• het

You usually have to learn this with each noun.

So:

• het fietspad = the bike path / cycle path

Also note:

• fiets = bike
• pad = path

Together, fietspad literally means bike path or cycle path.

Na de bocht means after the bend/curve/turn.

Breakdown:

• na = after
• de bocht = the bend / curve / turn

So it describes location: the bike path becomes very narrow after the bend.

This is a normal way to describe position in Dutch:

• na het stoplicht = after the traffic light
• na de brug = after the bridge
• na de bocht = after the bend

Yes. Wordt is from worden, which means to become.

So:

• het fietspad ... heel smal wordt
• literally: the bike path becomes very narrow

This suggests a change: at that point, the path gets narrower.

If the sentence had is instead:

• Doordat het fietspad na de bocht heel smal is ... that would mean it is very narrow there, without emphasizing the change.

In English, both might sometimes be translated naturally depending on context, but Dutch wordt clearly expresses becomes / gets.

Heel smal means very narrow.

Here:

• smal = narrow
• heel = very

In Dutch, heel is a very common intensifier before adjectives:

• heel groot = very big
• heel mooi = very beautiful
• heel druk = very busy
• heel smal = very narrow

Even though heel also means whole in other contexts, here it means very.

Because moeten is a modal verb, and modal verbs in Dutch take the bare infinitive.

So:

• moeten stoppen = must stop / have to stop

Not:

• moeten te stoppen

Other modal verbs work the same way:

• kunnen fietsen = can cycle
• willen gaan = want to go
• mogen parkeren = may park
• zullen komen = will come

So after moeten, you use the infinitive directly.

Here even does not mean the English adjective even.

In this sentence, even is a very common Dutch adverb that often means something like:

• for a moment
• briefly
• sometimes just a softening word

So:

• daar even stoppen = stop there for a moment / just stop there briefly

Dutch speakers use even all the time to make something sound lighter, shorter, or less direct:

• Wacht even. = Wait a second.
• Ik kijk even. = I’ll just take a look.
• Kun je even helpen? = Can you help for a moment?

So in this sentence, it suggests the stop is temporary or brief.

Daar means there.

In this sentence, it refers to that location on the bike path, especially the narrow point after the bend.

So:

• daar even stoppen = stop there for a moment

It helps point to the place just mentioned, rather than repeating the whole location again.

Sommige mensen means some people.

Breakdown:

• sommige = some
• mensen = people

It refers to an unspecified group, not all people.

So the sentence means that only certain people have to stop, not everyone.

Compare:

• mensen = people
• sommige mensen = some people
• alle mensen = all people
• veel mensen = many people

The comma separates the opening subordinate clause from the main clause:

• Doordat het fietspad na de bocht heel smal wordt,
• moeten sommige mensen daar even stoppen.

In Dutch, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, a comma is very common and standard in writing.

It also helps the reader see the structure:

1. cause
2. result

Yes. A very natural alternative is:

• Sommige mensen moeten daar even stoppen, doordat het fietspad na de bocht heel smal wordt.

However, the original version is often more natural if you want to present the cause first.

Word order changes depending on what comes first:

• Sommige mensen moeten ... = normal main clause
• Doordat ..., moeten sommige mensen ... = subordinate clause first, so inversion in the main clause

Both are grammatical, but the original sentence highlights the cause at the start.

Yes. Dutch very often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

So:

• fiets
  • pad = fietspad

This is completely normal in Dutch. Some other examples:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• treinstation = train station
• regenjas = raincoat

English often uses separate words where Dutch uses one compound word. That is something English-speaking learners need to get used to.