dorop ..., datt

Pointing to a Clause: Dorop ..., Datt

Level 5

Ech freeë mech dorop, datt s de kënns. (I'm looking forward to you coming.) The do-form points ahead to the clause after the comma.

How It Works

1. From a noun to a clause
With a noun, the preposition stays: Ech freeë mech op d'Vakanz. With a clause, a preposition cannot stand alone, so its do-form takes its place and points ahead:

  • Ech freeë mech dorop, datt s de kënns. (I'm looking forward to you coming.)
  • Et hänkt dovun of, ob et reent. (It depends on whether it rains.)
  • Ech si rosen driwwer, datt ech net invitéiert gouf. (I'm annoyed that I wasn't invited.)

2. Stressed and unstressed forms
Each do-form has an unstressed partner built with der- (dr- before a vowel). The unstressed forms are very common, also in writing: dorop / drop, dorun / drun, doriwwer / driwwer, dovun / dervun, domat / dermat, dozou / derzou. Both are correct.

3. What can follow

  • a datt clause: Ech zielen drop, datt der op eist Fest kommt.
  • an ob clause or a question word: Et hänkt dervun of, wéi vill Leit do sinn.
  • a ze infinitive when the subject is the same: Ech freeë mech drop, dech erëmzegesinn.

4. Where it goes
The do-form stays in the main clause, usually at its end, just before the comma. With a separable verb, it comes before the prefix: Et hänkt dovun of, ...

5. Only for things and clauses
For a person, keep the preposition with a pronoun: Ech waarden op hien. The do-forms point to things and ideas, not people (see Verbs With Fixed Prepositions).

Examples (6)

  1. Ech freeë mech dorop, datt s de kënns.

    I'm looking forward to you coming.

    Sech freeën op + a datt clause gives dorop, datt.

  2. Et hänkt dovun of, ob et reent.

    It depends on whether it rains.

    Ofhänke vun + an ob clause gives dovun ... of, ob.

  3. Ech zielen drop, datt der op eist Fest kommt.

    I'm counting on you coming to our party.

    Drop is the unstressed form of dorop.

  4. Ob et laang beim Dokter dauert, hänkt dervun of, wéi vill Leit do sinn.

    Whether it takes long at the doctor's depends on how many people are there.

    Dervun is the unstressed form of dovun; here a wéi clause follows.

  5. Ech si rosen driwwer, datt ech net invitéiert gouf.

    I'm annoyed that I wasn't invited.

  6. Ech freeë mech drop, dech erëmzegesinn.

    I'm looking forward to seeing you again.

    With the same subject, a ze infinitive can follow.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the bare preposition before a clause.

    Ech zielen op, datt der op eist Fest kommt.
    Ech zielen drop, datt der op eist Fest kommt.

    A preposition cannot point to a clause, so use its do-form: drop or dorop. Ech zielen op even means "I am listing" (opzielen).

  • Using a do-form for a person.

    Wou bleift de Paul? Ech waarden elo scho laang drop.
    Wou bleift de Paul? Ech waarden elo scho laang op hien.

    Do-forms point to things and clauses. For a person, use the preposition with a pronoun: op hien.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

dorop ..., dattLevel 5Pointing to a Clause: Dorop ..., Datt

Learn This First

Before Pointing to a Clause: Dorop ..., datt, learn It With Prepositions: Domat, Dofir, Dorop and That: Datt.

Words in This Pattern

doropdovunobdrundervun