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### The Golden Rule: Time Before Place

When a Dutch sentence contains both a time ("when") and a place ("where"), there is a strict rule for the word order: **time always comes before place**.

In English, we often put the place first (e.g., "We are walking *to the library* *on Monday*"). In Dutch, this order must be reversed.

Notice how the time words (**maandag**, **zaterdag**, or even **nu** for "now") appear before the locations (**de bibliotheek**, **de stad**, **het bed**).

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### Questions with Time and Place

This rule does not change when you ask a question. The verb moves to the front, followed by the subject, and then you still state the time before the place.

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### Starting the Sentence with Time

As you learned in previous lessons, you can emphasize a time by putting it at the very beginning of the sentence. This triggers inversion: the verb stays in the second position, forcing the subject to move to the third spot. Even in this setup, the place remains safely near the end.

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Time before place

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and 'to be' (ik ben, hij is)

The formal 'you' (u bent)

Definite articles (de, het)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (wij zijn)

The verb 'to have' (hebben)

Basic word order

Numbers 1 to 10 (een, twee, drie)

Verb stems and the 'I' form (ik werk)

Long vowels in verb stems (maken, ik maak)

Short vowels in verb stems (zitten, ik zit)

Present tense singular (-t)

Present tense plural (-en)

Yes/no questions

Question words (wie, wat, waar)

Noun negation (geen)

Plural nouns (-en)

Plural nouns (-s)

Diminutives (-je)

Adjective modifiers (heel, erg, te)

Verb negation (niet)

Singular possessives (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar)

Plural and formal possessives (ons/onze, jullie, hun, uw)

This and these (deze, dit)

That and those (die, dat)

Asking which (welke, welk)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elf, twaalf, dertien...)

Tens and compound numbers (dertig, veertig...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (eerste, tweede...)

Telling time: hours and half hours (uur, half)

Telling time: quarters (kwart over, kwart voor)

Question words (hoeveel, waarom)

Irregular verbs (doen, gaan, staan, zien, komen)

Adjective endings (+e)

Adjectives with 'het' words

Prepositions of place (uit, bij)

Subject-verb inversion

Modal verbs (willen, kunnen)

Modal verbs (moeten, mogen)

The verb bracket

Separable prefix verbs

The imperative mood (kom, luister)

Singular object pronouns (mij, jou, hem, haar)

Plural and formal object pronouns (ons, jullie, hen, u)

Reflexive verbs and pronouns (zich, me, je)

Position of negation (niet)

The present perfect tense with regular verbs (hebben gewerkt)

The present perfect tense with motion verbs (zijn gegaan)

Irregular past participles (gezien, gedaan)

The present continuous (zijn aan het)

There is / there are (er is, er zijn)

Unstressed there (er)

And, but, or (en, maar, of)

Because (want)

Months of the year

Prepositions of time (om, van ... tot)

Greetings and politeness

Conversational glue

Prepositions with days (op)

Prepositions with seasons (in)

Genitive of time ('s morgens, 's nachts)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

The future tense (gaan)

The future tense (zullen)

Separable verbs with auxiliary verbs

Apostrophe plurals ('-s)

Irregular plurals (-eren)

Complex diminutives (-pje, -etje, -kje)

Possessive 's (Jan's, vaders)

Indefinite pronouns (iets, niemand, alles)

Indefinite subject pronoun (je)

Reciprocal pronoun (elkaar)

Comparative adjectives (-er dan)

Comparatives with spelling change (-der)

Superlative adjectives (-st)

Irregular comparisons (beter, meer, minder)

Expressing preference (graag, liever, het liefst)

Equality comparisons (even ... als)

Fixed prepositions

That clauses (dat)

Because clauses (omdat)

If and when clauses (als)

Inversion after clauses

Separable verbs in clauses

Negation in clauses (niet)

Past tense of to be (was / waren)

Past tense of to have (had / hadden)

Past tense of modal verbs (wilde, kon, moest, mocht)

Question	Answer
Monday	maandag
the library	de bibliotheek
We are walking to the library on Monday.	We lopen maandag naar de bibliotheek.
He works in the library on Monday.	Hij werkt maandag in de bibliotheek.
We are reading the newspaper at the station today.	We lezen vandaag de krant op het station.
Tuesday	dinsdag
We drink tea in the café on Tuesday.	We drinken dinsdag thee in het café.
Wednesday	woensdag
the swimming pool	het zwembad
Are they swimming in the pool on Wednesday?	Zwemmen ze woensdag in het zwembad?
Thursday	donderdag
On Thursday the child plays at the pool.	Op donderdag speelt het kind bij het zwembad.
Do you have a meeting in the library on Thursday?	Hebben jullie donderdag een vergadering in de bibliotheek?
We are parking the car in the city tonight.	We parkeren vanavond de auto in de stad.
Friday	vrijdag
The teacher reads a book in the library on Friday.	De docent leest vrijdag een boek in de bibliotheek.
They are eating soup in the kitchen this evening.	Ze eten vanavond soep in de keuken.
Saturday	zaterdag
Do they cycle to the beach on Saturday?	Fietsen ze zaterdag naar het strand?
Sunday	zondag
On Sunday we walk on the beach.	Op zondag wandelen we op het strand.
Are you coming to the party on Sunday at a quarter to twelve?	Kom je zondag om kwart voor twaalf naar het feest?
Are you going to the museum on Monday at a quarter past ten?	Ga je maandag om kwart over tien naar het museum?
The cat is sleeping on the bed now.	De kat slaapt nu op het bed.
She is buying flowers at the supermarket tomorrow.	Ze koopt morgen bloemen in de supermarkt.
the market	de markt
We go to the market on Tuesday.	We gaan dinsdag naar de markt.
They are at the market on Wednesday and Friday.	Ze zijn woensdag en vrijdag op de markt.
I walk in the city on Saturday.	Ik wandel zaterdag in de stad.