Breakdown of Hoe ga je naar het werk?
het werk
the work
naar
to
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
hoe
how
Questions & Answers about Hoe ga je naar het werk?
Why does the verb come right after Hoe?
In Dutch questions that start with a question word like Hoe (How), the verb always comes in the second position. You don't use a helper verb like 'do' as we do in English. You just put the verb before the subject: Hoe ga je literally means 'How go you'.
Why is the verb ga instead of gaat for 'you'?
Normally, the verb form for 'you' is gaat (as in je gaat). But there is a special rule in Dutch: when je or jij comes right after the verb, you drop the -t. That is why it becomes ga je instead of gaat je.
Why does the sentence say het werk (the work) instead of just werk?
In English, we leave out 'the' and just say 'going to work'. Dutch is more literal and requires the definite article here, so you must say naar het werk (to the work) when talking about traveling to your workplace.
Can I use jij instead of je in this sentence?
Yes, you can say Hoe ga jij naar het werk? but je is much more common for everyday questions. You would only use jij if you want to put special emphasis on the person, like asking 'How do you go to work?' compared to someone else.