Breakdown of Blijven jullie bij de deur?
jullie
you (plural)
bij
at / near / by
de deur
the door
blijven
to stay
Questions & Answers about Blijven jullie bij de deur?
Why use bij in this sentence instead of another preposition like naar?
The preposition bij means "by", "near", or "at" a location. Because the people are staying in a stationary spot rather than moving toward a destination, you use bij. If they were walking toward the door, you would use naar instead.
Where is the word for "are" in this sentence?
Dutch doesn't use an "are ...-ing" structure like English does for things happening right now. The single verb blijven covers both "stay" and "are staying". So, Blijven jullie? translates perfectly to "Are you staying?".
Why is the verb Blijven at the very beginning?
To ask a yes/no question in Dutch, you simply swap the subject (jullie) and the verb (blijven). You don't need extra helper words like "do" or "are" at the start. The statement Jullie blijven (You stay) simply becomes the question Blijven jullie? (Do you stay? / Are you staying?).
How would this sentence change if I were only talking to one person?
Learn Blijven jullie bij de deur and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free