Conjunctions: en, maar, want, of, dus

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Coordinating conjunctions (nevenschikkende voegwoorden) connect two independent clauses (main clauses) or two similar parts of a sentence. Crucially, they do NOT change the word order. The subject-verb inversion rule does not apply across these conjunctions; both connected clauses keep their standard word order (Subject + Verb).

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'En' means 'and'. It is used to add information, link two nouns, or connect two complete main clauses. When connecting two main clauses with the same subject, the subject in the second clause is often omitted in casual speech, though keeping it is grammatically correct.

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'Maar' means 'but'. It introduces a contrast, exception, or unexpected limitation to the statement made in the first clause. Like all coordinating conjunctions in this group, 'maar' does not trigger inversion or clause-final verb placement.

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'Want' means 'because' and provides a reason or explanation. It is a coordinating conjunction, meaning normal main clause word order is maintained (Subject + Verb). This distinguishes it sharply from its synonym 'omdat', which is a subordinating conjunction sending the verb to the end.

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As a coordinating conjunction, 'of' means 'or'. It presents alternatives or choices between words, phrases, or clauses. (Note: 'of' also functions as a subordinating conjunction meaning 'whether/if', but at A2 level, its primary coordinating use for 'or' is essential).

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'Dus' means 'so' or 'therefore', expressing a logical consequence or conclusion. While 'dus' functions semantically as a coordinating conjunction, it behaves like an adverb regarding word order in Dutch: it often causes inversion if placed right after the comma, or it can sit comfortably inside the second clause.

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Both 'want' and 'omdat' translate to 'because' in English. The core difference is grammar, not meaning: 'want' is coordinating (Subject + Verb, normal order), whereas 'omdat' is subordinating (Subject ... Verb, verb goes to the end of the clause).

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In Dutch, a comma is frequently placed before coordinating conjunctions ('en', 'maar', 'want', 'of', 'dus') when they connect two independent clauses with distinct subjects. For short phrases or shared subjects, a comma is usually omitted.

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You can chain multiple clauses using coordinating conjunctions. Each joined clause maintains its own independent main clause word order. Avoid overly long sentences by breaking them up with periods, but keeping two or three connected thoughts is common at A2.

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When two clauses connected by 'en' share the exact same subject, the subject in the second clause can be omitted to make the sentence sound more natural. This only works smoothly if the word order allows the verb to remain in the correct slot.

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To emphasize a choice between two distinct alternatives, Dutch uses the correlative conjunction pair 'of ... of' (either ... or). This reinforces the function of 'of' as a disjunctive connector.

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Mastering the big five A2 coordinating conjunctions requires matching the logical relationship: 'en' (addition), 'maar' (contrast), 'want' (reason), 'of' (alternative), and 'dus' (consequence). All five link main clauses without sending the verb to the end.