want or omdat? maar or hoewel? 36 connectors grouped by exactly what they do to the sentence — keep the order, send the verb to the end, or flip it — with 72 example sentences and audio.
Nevenschikkend
Joins two equal clauses and keeps normal word order (subject, then verb) in both.
Ik werk en zij studeert. — I work and she studies.
Hij is moe en hij gaat slapen. — He is tired and he goes to sleep.
Ik wil komen, maar ik heb geen tijd. — I want to come, but I have no time.
Het is koud, maar de zon schijnt. — It's cold, but the sun is shining.
Wil je koffie of thee? — Do you want coffee or tea?
We gaan lopen of we nemen de bus. — We'll walk or we'll take the bus.
Ik blijf thuis, want ik ben ziek. — I'm staying home, because I'm sick.
Zij is blij, want ze heeft gewonnen. — She is happy, because she won.
Ik ben moe, dus ik ga naar bed. — I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.
Het is laat, dus we gaan naar huis. — It's late, so we're going home.
Both mean 'because', but they change the word order differently. want is coordinating, so the verb stays in second position: Ik blijf thuis, want ik ben ziek. omdat is subordinating, so the verb goes to the end: Ik blijf thuis omdat ik ziek ben. Same meaning, different structure — and it's one of the most common mistakes at A2.
The subordinating ones (onderschikkende voegwoorden): omdat, dat, als, toen, terwijl, hoewel, zodat, voordat, nadat, totdat, tenzij, zodra and more. They open a sub-clause, and in that clause the verb moves right to the end: Ik weet dat je gelijk hebt. If the sub-clause comes first, the main clause then starts with its verb: Omdat ik ziek ben, blijf ik thuis.
There are five, easy to remember: en (and), maar (but), of (or), want (because) and dus (so). They join two equal main clauses and keep the normal subject–verb order in both halves, so nothing moves: Ik werk en zij studeert.
Words like daarom (therefore), daardoor (as a result), toch (still) and echter (however) are connective adverbs, not conjunctions. When one of them opens the clause it takes the first position, so the verb has to come next, before the subject: Ik ben ziek. Daarom blijf ik thuis. That flip is called inversion, and it's the same rule that applies whenever anything other than the subject starts a Dutch sentence.
A word-order trainer, grammar and all five DUO sections — Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking and KNM — in the real exam format.