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I've noticed a few times that when there is an extra little verb (wil, in "wat je wil"), that the word order changes, and the stuff I would normally expect to be in the middle goes to the end. Can someone explain why this is? If I wanted to avoid confusion, could I still say "Je mag wat je wil zeggen"?
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Hi H_Butler,
In je mag zeggen wat je wil
Ik= subject
mag= modal verb - finite (conjugated) (must remain with the subject)
zeggen= main verb
wat je wil= Direct Object of the verb zeggen, what you may say. At the same time, this is a dependent/subordinate clause, and in such clauses, verbs are placed at the end.
I'm not an expert, but I think that in this case zeggen is placed after mag (instead of at the end of the sentence) because the Direct Object is a clause and it could create confusion regarding to which modal verb zeggen is related (mag or wil).
For example, if you were to say:
Je mag dat wel zeggen
then zeggen is indeed placed at the end.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks, this seems correct! Although I would be reassured by a mod/native speaker confirming this :P
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Je mag zeggen wat je wil, Gaffer, maar Balingshoek is een vreemd oord en de mensen erin zijn vreemder!
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Yeap, it's because of mag. Remember that modal verbs combine with bare infinitive verbs.
Hope this helps.