Breakdown of We gaan op vakantie.
op
on
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
de vakantie
the holiday
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
Questions & Answers about We gaan op vakantie.
Why does the Dutch sentence use just gaan instead of a translation for "are going"?
In Dutch, there is no direct equivalent to the English "are going" pattern (the present continuous) for verbs like this. You simply use the normal present tense verb gaan. It translates perfectly to both "we go" and "we are going".
How can I turn this into a question using the question word waar (where)?
To ask "Where are we going on holiday?", you put the question word waar at the very beginning and then swap the subject and the verb: Waar gaan we op vakantie?
How would I use the question word wie (who) to ask "Who are we going on holiday with?"
You would put the preposition met (with) right before wie at the start of the sentence, and again swap the verb and subject: Met wie gaan we op vakantie?
How is the ending of the word vakantie pronounced?
The -tie at the end of vakantie is not pronounced like the English word "tie". In Dutch, words ending in -tie are pronounced with a "tsee" sound.