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Learn Hardcore Dutch: Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug. - Only send complete orders back.

Hardcore Dutch
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/Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug.

Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug.

Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug.

Only send complete orders back.

Breakdown of Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug.

complete (with all parts present)

to send back (an item)

Questions & Answers about Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug.

Is stuur a command here?

Yes. Stuur is the imperative form of sturen and means send as a command.

Dutch often leaves out the subject in commands, just like English does in Send it back. The implied subject is you.

So Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug is telling someone: Send back only complete orders.

Why is terug at the end instead of attached to stuur?

Because terugsturen is a separable verb in Dutch.

The full dictionary form is terugsturen = to send back / return. But in a main clause or command, the prefix terug usually separates and moves to the end:

Ik stuur de bestelling terug.
Stuur de bestelling terug.

When the verb stays together, that is usually in forms like the infinitive or past participle:

Ik wil de bestelling terugsturen.
Hij heeft de bestelling teruggestuurd.

What does alleen mean here, and what exactly is it modifying?

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Alleen means only.

In this sentence, it most naturally limits complete bestellingen. So the idea is: send back only orders that are complete.

Its position matters. In Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug, alleen comes right before the noun phrase it is restricting, which is a very common Dutch pattern.

Why is there no article before complete bestellingen?

Because Dutch, like English, can use a bare plural for a general meaning.

Complete bestellingen means complete orders in a general sense, not the complete orders. If you said de complete bestellingen, you would be referring to specific complete orders that are already known from context.

So here, no article is needed.

Why is it complete and not compleet?

The basic adjective is compleet.

When a Dutch adjective comes before a noun, it often takes an extra -e ending. Since bestellingen is a plural noun, the adjective normally gets that ending:

een complete bestelling
complete bestellingen
de complete bestelling

So compleet becomes complete here because of normal adjective inflection.

What is the singular of bestellingen, and how is the plural formed?

The singular is bestelling, meaning order.

The plural is bestellingen, formed with -en, which is a very common plural ending in Dutch.

So:

de bestelling = the order
de bestellingen = the orders

Does terugsturen mean exactly the same as English return?

Often yes, but literally it means send back.

In many situations, English would use return, while Dutch naturally uses terugsturen. So in a sentence like this, terugsturen is a very normal way to express returning an order.

Depending on context, return in English may sound slightly broader, while terugsturen emphasizes the idea of sending something back.

Could this sentence be made more polite or formal?

Yes. The plain imperative Stuur ... terug is normal for instructions, manuals, workplace directions, or informal commands.

If you want a more polite or formal version, you could say:

Stuurt u alleen complete bestellingen terug.

That adds u, the formal you, and uses the matching verb form. The meaning stays the same, but the tone is more polite.

Is the word order natural, or could I move the words around?

The given word order is natural and clear.

A useful way to see it is:

Stuur = command verb
alleen complete bestellingen = direct object
terug = separated verb prefix

Dutch often places the main verb first in commands, keeps the object in the middle, and puts the separable prefix at the end. So Stuur alleen complete bestellingen terug is exactly the kind of order you should expect.

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