Breakdown of De bus vertrekt om half negen.
negen
nine
de bus
the bus
half
half (past) / half (fraction)
om
at (time)
Questions & Answers about De bus vertrekt om half negen.
Why does half negen mean "half past eight"? Doesn't negen mean nine?
Yes, negen means nine, but Dutch handles half hours differently than English! In Dutch, you look forward to the next hour. So half negen literally means "halfway to nine", which is 8:30 (half past eight).
Which word means "at" in this sentence?
The word om. Whenever you want to say "at" a specific time on the clock in Dutch, you always use the preposition om.
What is the dictionary form of the verb vertrekt?
The full verb is vertrekken, which means "to leave" or "to depart". Since de bus acts as an "it" subject, we take the stem of the verb and add -t, making it vertrekt.
Can I put the time first and say "Om half negen de bus vertrekt"?
No, you would have to say: Om half negen vertrekt de bus. In Dutch, the working verb must be the second piece of information in a standard sentence. If you put the time first, the verb has to swap places with the subject to stay in that second spot.