Questions & Answers about Wij kijken samen naar de film.
Why does the verb kijken end in -en?
Because the subject is wij (we). In Dutch, plural subjects like wij (we), jullie (you, plural), and zij (they) use the infinitive form of the verb. This is the base form you find in the dictionary, and it almost always ends in -en.
Why is the word naar in this sentence? The English translation doesn't say "watching to the film".
In Dutch, when you watch a movie, TV, or a performance, you use the fixed combination kijken naar (literally "look to" or "look at"). You generally cannot just say Wij kijken de film; you need that extra preposition naar.
The translation says "are watching", but isn't kijken just "watch"?
It is both! Dutch does not use an "-ing" form (are watching) nearly as much as English does. A standard present tense verb like kijken translates to both "watch" and "are watching", depending on what makes the most sense in English.
Could I put samen at the end of the sentence, like "Wij kijken naar de film samen"?
That would sound unnatural in Dutch. Small adverbs describing how you do something, like samen (together), usually come directly after the verb and before phrases that start with a preposition, like naar de film.
Learn Wij kijken samen naar de film and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free