Breakdown of De film eindigt over tien minuten.
tien
ten
de film
the film
over
past, in (time)
eindigen
to end
Questions & Answers about De film eindigt over tien minuten.
Wait, doesn't over mean 'past' like in kwart over? Why does it mean 'in' here?
When telling the time on a clock, over does mean 'past' (like kwart over twee). But when you talk about how much time will pass before something happens in the future, over translates to 'in'. So over tien minuten means 'in ten minutes from now'.
Could I just say in tien minuten instead?
No, and this is a common trap! In Dutch, in tien minuten means the action takes ten minutes to complete (like running a fast race). If you want to say something will happen 'ten minutes from now', you must use over.
Why does eindigt end with -igt?
The full infinitive verb is eindigen (to end). Because de film acts as an 'it', we use the 'he/she/it' form. You take the verb stem (eindig) and add a -t to get eindigt.
Why is there only one 'u' in minuten?
The singular word for minute is minuut (with a double u to make a long sound). When you make it plural by adding -en, the syllable splits and ends on the vowel: mi-nu-ten. In Dutch spelling, a single vowel at the end of a syllable automatically makes a long sound, so the second u is dropped.