Dat kun je niet maken.

Sentence Discussions Dutch
#1

What form of kunnen is this? I know you can say “je kunt” or “je kan” but I haven’t heard of this form before.

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#2

when there is an inversion, the verb loses the final “t” in the second and third person (except the formal form)

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#3

Actually, while what @Eniotna has said is correct, regarding the dropping of the “t” in the “you singular” form when inversion occurs (which happens when “je/jij” isn’t the subject of the sentence - compare to “Je kunt dat niet maken”, where it is - also in the case of questions, e.g. “Wat kun je niet maken?”, or in general in questions, even if it is the subject, because then inversion of the verb and its subject occurs “Kun je dat niet maken”?), to add a bit to this for anyone who might still encounter this:

“Je” as object of the sentence:

  • use: “kunt” (more formal)/“kan” (less formal), e.g. “Je kunt dat niet maken”/“Je kan dat niet maken”

“je” in sentences with inversion (either with another object, or in a question):

  • use: “kun” (more formal")/“kan” (less formal"), e.g. “Dat kun je niet maken”/“Dat kan je niet maken” or “Kun je dat maken?”/“Kan je dat maken?”

So “kun” is the inversion form corresponding to “kunt”. “kan” has appeared as a more informal version of this irregular verb (corresponding to the other singular forms “ik kan”, “hij/zij/het kan”), which does not have a corresponding “t” form, even when “je”/“jij” is the object of the sentence.

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