Na de tweede afrit moet je meteen invoegen.

Because the sentence starts with Na de tweede afrit. In Dutch main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

So the structure is:

• Na de tweede afrit = first element
• moet = finite verb in second position
• je = subject

That is why you get:

• Na de tweede afrit moet je meteen invoegen.

If the sentence started with the subject, you would say:

• Je moet na de tweede afrit meteen invoegen.

Both are correct; the first version puts more emphasis on after the second exit.

Na means after.

It is a preposition, so it is followed by a noun phrase:

• na de tweede afrit = after the second exit

Other examples:

• na het eten = after the meal
• na school = after school
• na drie uur = after three o’clock

So in this sentence, na introduces the point in time or place after which the action should happen.

Because afrit is a de-word in Dutch:

• de afrit = the exit

So the ordinal adjective must agree with a de-word:

• de tweede afrit

Compare:

• de eerste straat
• de derde afslag

If it were a het-word, you would usually see het plus an adjective ending in -e in this kind of phrase too, but the article itself would be different:

• het tweede huis

The key thing to memorize here is simply:

• afrit → de afrit

In traffic language, afrit means exit, especially a motorway or highway exit.

Common combinations:

• de afrit nemen = to take the exit
• de tweede afrit = the second exit
• afrit 7 = exit 7

It is a very common driving word in Dutch.

Invoegen means to merge into traffic or to move into a lane/stream of traffic.

In driving contexts, it is used when you join a road or lane:

• invoegen op de snelweg = merge onto the motorway
• je moet meteen invoegen = you have to merge immediately

So this is not just any movement; it specifically refers to joining moving traffic.

Because invoegen is an infinitive that goes with the finite verb moet.

In Dutch main clauses with a modal verb like moeten, the modal is conjugated and the other verb usually goes to the end:

• je moet invoegen
• ik kan rijden
• wij willen vertrekken

So here:

• moet = conjugated modal verb
• invoegen = infinitive at the end

This is a very common Dutch pattern.

Because after a modal verb like moeten, Dutch uses the infinitive without te.

So you say:

• je moet invoegen
• ik kan komen
• wij willen gaan

Not:

• je moet te invoegen ❌

The word te appears with some other constructions, but not after modal verbs such as:

• moeten
• kunnen
• willen
• mogen
• zullen

Meteen means immediately, right away, or straight away.

In this sentence it tells you that the merging should happen without delay:

• moet je meteen invoegen = you must merge immediately

A near-synonym is direct:

• Je moet meteen invoegen.
• Je moet direct invoegen.

Both are natural, though meteen is very common in everyday Dutch.

Yes. Je is the normal informal singular form for you, and it is also often used generally in instructions.

In more formal language, you could say:

• Na de tweede afrit moet u meteen invoegen.

That would be appropriate in a more formal context, but road instructions often use je very naturally, especially in spoken Dutch or learner examples.

It can cover both ideas. In many cases, Dutch moeten can mean either must or have to, depending on context.

Here it gives a clear obligation/instruction:

• moet je meteen invoegen

In English, that could be translated as:

• you must merge immediately
• you have to merge immediately

Dutch does not always make a sharp distinction between those two the way English sometimes does.

Yes, but the most natural position here is the one you see:

• Na de tweede afrit moet je meteen invoegen.

You may also hear or see:

• Je moet na de tweede afrit meteen invoegen.

Dutch word order allows some flexibility with adverbs, but not every position sounds equally natural. In this sentence, placing meteen before invoegen works very well because it clearly modifies the action of merging.

Yes, invoegen behaves like a separable verb in many forms.

For example:

• Ik voeg in. = I merge.
• Je moet invoegen. = You have to merge.
• Hij is ingevoegd. = He has merged.

What happens is:

• in a simple present main clause, the prefix can separate: voeg ... in
• with an infinitive, it stays together: invoegen
• with a past participle, it becomes ingevoegd

This is a very useful pattern to learn for Dutch verbs with prefixes.