Tap the words into the right order. Learn inversion, the verb-second rule and where the verb really goes.
Put the words in the correct order:
“I drink coffee every morning.”
Tap a word to place it, tap a gap to move the caret, or drag to reorder. Practise the full exam →
In a main clause the finite verb is always the second element — no matter what comes first.
Start with time or another element and the subject jumps to after the verb: Morgen ga ik…
Extra info stacks in a fixed order: when, then how, then where.
In a subordinate clause, and with modals and the perfect, the other verb goes to the very end.
In a main clause Dutch is subject – verb – rest, with the finite verb fixed in second position (the 'verb-second' rule). Extra information follows the order time – manner – place. In subordinate clauses, and with modal verbs and the perfect tense, the second verb moves to the end.
Inversion happens when something other than the subject starts the sentence — a time word, a place, or a subordinate clause. Because the verb must stay second, the subject moves to just after the verb: 'Morgen ga ik naar school' rather than 'Morgen ik ga…'.
After a subordinating conjunction like omdat, dat, als or terwijl, the finite verb moves to the very end of the clause: 'Ik blijf thuis omdat ik ziek ben.' This end-of-clause verb position is one of the hardest habits to build.
Yes. Correct word order is essential for the writing and speaking parts of the A2 inburgeringsexamen. These 52 sentences drill the exact patterns — inversion, verb-final clauses and separable verbs — that native listeners notice most.