The pattern
Zodat, opdat and dat start a subordinate clause (a part of the sentence that cannot stand on its own), so its verbs go to the end. In zo ... dat, the zo and the adjective or adverb belong to the main clause: Ik was zo moe | dat ik meteen sliep.
- zodat: "so that". Purpose (what you want to happen) or result (what actually happened).
- opdat: "so that, in order that". Purpose only, formal.
- zo + adjective or adverb + dat: "so ... that". Something is strong enough to have a consequence.
- With a singular count noun, use zo'n + noun + dat: zo'n lange rij dat. With plural nouns, use zulke (zulke lange rijen dat); for quantity, use zoveel (zoveel mensen dat, zoveel water dat). See Zo'n, zulk and zulke.
- Several verbs gather at the end together: zodat iedereen het kan zien. See The order of verbs at the end.
Examples
| Ik zet twee wekkers, zodat ik mijn trein niet mis. | I set two alarms so that I don't miss my train. |
| Sanne spreekt langzaam, zodat de nieuwe collega's alles kunnen volgen. | Sanne speaks slowly so that the new colleagues can follow everything. |
| De trein had twintig minuten vertraging, zodat Priya te laat bij de huisarts kwam. | The train was twenty minutes late, so Priya was late for the GP. |
| Het was erg glad op straat, zodat veel mensen de fiets lieten staan. | The streets were very slippery, so lots of people left their bikes at home. |
| De gemeente zet de regels online, opdat iedere inwoner ze kan nalezen. | The municipality puts the rules online so that every resident can read them. |
| Ik was gisteravond zo moe dat ik om negen uur al sliep. | Last night I was so tired that I was asleep by nine. |
| De soep was zo heet dat Yara tien minuten moest wachten. | The soup was so hot that Yara had to wait ten minutes. |
| Joris fietst zo hard dat de rest van de groep achterblijft. | Joris cycles so fast that the rest of the group falls behind. |
| Er stond zo'n lange rij bij de kassa dat Ahmed zonder boodschappen weer vertrok. | There was such a long queue at the checkout that Ahmed left again without any shopping. |
Why it works this way
English already makes this split: "so that" for a goal, "so tired that" for degree. Dutch follows it closely, with two twists. The conjunction zodat is written as one word, while in zo moe dat the adjective keeps zo and dat apart. And just like omdat and hoewel, the words zodat, opdat and dat each open a subordinate clause, so the verb waits at the end (see Subordinate clauses).
Think of zo as a volume knob: moe is tired, zo moe is tired turned all the way up, and the dat clause tells you what that volume caused.
You will also see zo and dat side by side as two separate words. Then zo belongs to the main clause and is not part of a conjunction: Het is nu eenmaal zo dat veel winkels om zes uur sluiten ("The fact is that many shops close at six"). So two words next to each other are not automatically zodat; only the conjunction for "so that" is glued.
Context decides whether zodat means purpose or result. Purpose clauses often contain kan or kunnen (zodat iedereen het kan zien), while result clauses usually report what really happened (zodat ik de bus miste). German speakers: Dutch zodat does the work of both sodass and damit.
With the same subject in both parts, om ... te is often shorter: Ik vertrek vroeg om op tijd te zijn. When the subject changes, you need a full clause: Ik vertrek vroeg, zodat de kinderen op tijd op school zijn. More in Om te: in order to.
Opdat sounds like an official letter, and that is where you meet it: letters from the gemeente, policy texts, speeches. In conversation, people say zodat. If your language uses a special verb form after "so that", as Spanish and French do, relax: Dutch uses the normal present or past.
Remember: "so that" is one glued word, zodat. When zo turns up an adjective or adverb, that word stands between zo and dat: zo moe dat.
Watch out
IncorrectoDe trein had vertraging, zodat ik kwam te laat.
CorrectoDe trein had vertraging, zodat ik te laat kwam.
the verb goes to the end after zodat
IncorrectoIk was zo moe zodat ik meteen sliep.
CorrectoIk was zo moe dat ik meteen sliep.
after zo plus an adjective, use plain dat
IncorrectoIk leg het nog een keer uit om jij het te begrijpen.
CorrectoIk leg het nog een keer uit, zodat jij het begrijpt.
om ... te cannot have its own subject
IncorrectoHet regende, zo ik bleef thuis.
CorrectoHet regende, zodat ik thuisbleef.
English "so" here is zodat or dus, not zo
IncorrectoEr was een storing, opdat alle treinen stilstonden.
CorrectoEr was een storing, zodat alle treinen stilstonden.
opdat only expresses purpose, never a result
Quick check
- Choose zodat or dat: Ik was zo zenuwachtig voor het examen ... ik die nacht slecht sliep.
- Fix the sentence: Neem een paraplu mee, zodat je wordt niet nat.
- Choose zodat or opdat: Er was een storing in het systeem, ... niemand kon inloggen.
- Choose zodat or om: Ik bel de huisarts morgen vroeg, ... ik nog een afspraak kan krijgen.
Ver las respuestas
- dat (after zo plus an adjective you use dat)
- Neem een paraplu mee, zodat je niet nat wordt. (the verb goes to the end of the zodat clause)
- zodat (this is a result, and opdat only expresses purpose)
- zodat (a full clause with its own subject follows; om needs te plus an infinitive)
Use it today
Write three sentences about your week: one with zodat for something you did on purpose, one with zodat for something that went wrong, and one with zo plus an adjective plus dat about the weather. Read them aloud on your way to work and check that every verb after zodat or dat sits at the end.