Kun jij de stoel wat verder opzij schuiven, zodat Anna kan zitten?

Because this is a yes/no question. In Dutch, the finite verb normally comes before the subject in that kind of question.

• Statement: Jij kunt de stoel opzij schuiven.
• Question: Kun jij de stoel opzij schuiven?

Also, with jij, Dutch often uses kun in inversion:

• jij kunt
• kun jij

So Kun jij ...? is the normal pattern here.

It is usually understood as a request, just like English Can you ...?

Literally, it asks whether the person is able to do it, but in everyday use it often means Could you please ...? Context tells you which meaning is intended. Here it is clearly a request to move the chair.

The small word wat also makes it sound softer and more polite.

Yes, jij is informal singular, like speaking to a friend, colleague, child, or someone you know well.

A more polite/formal version uses u:

• Kunt u de stoel wat verder opzij schuiven, zodat Anna kan zitten?

You may also hear je instead of jij in informal Dutch:

• Kun je de stoel wat verder opzij schuiven ... ?

That is very common in speech.

Right. Here wat does not mean what.

In this sentence, wat means something like:

• a bit
• somewhat
• slightly

So wat verder means a little further.

It often works as a softener in requests, making the sentence sound less direct.

Verder means further or farther.

So wat verder opzij means a little further to the side. The idea is not just to move the chair aside, but to move it a bit more than where it is now.

Compare:

• opzij = aside / to the side
• verder opzij = further to the side

Opzij means aside or to the side.
Schuiven means to slide, to push, or to move something along a surface, usually without lifting it.

Together, opzij schuiven means to slide/move something aside.

So this sentence suggests moving the chair sideways by pushing it, not picking it up and carrying it somewhere else.

Because schuiven is an infinitive depending on the modal verb kun.

Dutch often puts the main infinitive at the end when there is a modal verb such as:

• kunnen = can
• willen = want
• moeten = must
• mogen = may

So:

• Kun jij ... schuiven?
• literally: Can you ... move?

The finite verb kun comes near the front, and the infinitive schuiven goes to the end of the clause.

Zodat means so that.

It introduces a clause that gives the purpose or result of the first action:

• Move the chair further aside
• so that Anna can sit

So the structure is:

• first action: Kun jij de stoel wat verder opzij schuiven
• result/purpose: zodat Anna kan zitten

Because the meaning is so that Anna will be able to sit or so that Anna has room to sit.

• Anna zit means Anna is sitting or Anna sits
• Anna kan zitten means Anna can sit

The point is not that Anna is already sitting, but that moving the chair will make it possible for her to sit.

Yes, that is possible, but zodat Anna kan zitten is the more neutral and common modern order.

In subordinate clauses with two verbs, Dutch sometimes allows more than one verb order. For most learners, kan zitten is the safest and most natural choice here.

So:

• more common/neutral: zodat Anna kan zitten
• also possible: zodat Anna zitten kan

Because zodat Anna kan zitten is a subordinate clause attached to the main clause.

Dutch spelling normally uses a comma to separate that kind of extra clause, especially when it expresses purpose or result.

So the comma helps show the structure:

• main clause: Kun jij de stoel wat verder opzij schuiven
• subordinate clause: zodat Anna kan zitten?