Questions & Answers about Hoe laat is de afspraak?
Why does the sentence use hoe laat instead of a word for 'time'?
In English you ask 'what time', but in Dutch you literally ask 'how late' (hoe laat). This is the standard way to ask for the current time or the time of a specific event.
Could I literally translate 'what time' and say wat tijd?
No, saying Wat tijd is de afspraak? is a direct translation from English and sounds incorrect in Dutch. You must always use hoe laat for these kinds of questions.
How do I ask 'What time is it?' if I want to know the current time?
You ask Hoe laat is het? (literally: How late is it?). In our sentence, we simply replaced het (it) with de afspraak (the appointment) to ask when a specific event happens.
Is there a trick to remembering that afspraak uses de instead of het?
Yes! Nouns that end in -aak (like de spraak for 'the speech' or de taak for 'the task') are almost always de words.