Om ... te + Infinitive: Expressing Purpose in Dutch
Build Dutch purpose clauses and learn where te belongs with separable verbs.
NL009 · NL · A2 / B1 · grammar
The question
Why is it Ik leer Nederlands om hier te werken?
Dutch often uses om ... te + infinitive to state a purpose: Ik leer Nederlands om hier te werken (I am learning Dutch in order to work here). The words between om and te can include objects or adverbs: Ik ga naar de winkel om brood te kopen (I'm going to the shop to buy bread).
Everyday purpose clauses
| Dutch | English | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Ik spaar om een fiets te kopen. | I'm saving to buy a bicycle. | Purpose |
| Ze belt om een afspraak te maken. | She's calling to make an appointment. | Purpose |
| Ik probeer vroeg op te staan. | I try to get up early. | Separable verb |
| Het is moeilijk om dit te begrijpen. | It's difficult to understand this. | Infinitive complement |
The separable verb opstaan becomes op te staan in an infinitive construction with te: the te appears between prefix and stem. Not every infinitive needs om: modal verbs commonly take a bare infinitive (Ik kan zwemmen, not *Ik kan om te zwemmen). Some verbs also take te without om, as in Ik probeer te slapen.
Common mistake
Avoid *Ik leer Nederlands om werken hier. The normal order is om hier te werken. Do not automatically add om to every te-infinitive: Ik probeer te leren is correct.
Remember
Use om ... te + infinitive especially for purpose; learn which verbs need te, and split separable verbs around te.