Breakdown of Vandaag bezoeken we onze ouders.
vandaag
today
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
bezoeken
to visit
de ouders
the parents
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
Questions & Answers about Vandaag bezoeken we onze ouders.
Why does the verb bezoeken come before the subject we?
Because the sentence starts with vandaag (today). In Dutch, the verb is almost always the second idea in a main sentence. When you put a time word like vandaag at the front to emphasize it, the subject (we) has to swap places with the verb so the verb stays in the second position. This swapping is called inversion.
Could I put vandaag somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, you can start with the subject instead. If you do, the sentence becomes We bezoeken vandaag onze ouders. Notice that when the subject we is at the front, there is no inversion—the verb bezoeken is still safely in the second position!
Why do we use onze here instead of ons for "our"?
You use onze because ouders (parents) is a plural word. In Dutch, ons is only used with singular het words (like ons huis). Onze is used for everything else: all plural words and all singular de words.
The English translation says "are visiting", but isn't bezoeken just the simple present tense?
Yes! Dutch doesn't use an "are doing" form as often as English does. The simple present tense word bezoeken translates to both "visit" and "are visiting" depending on what makes the most sense in English.
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