Breakdown of Dichtbij zien we een winkel.
een
a/an
zien
to see
de winkel
the shop
dichtbij
nearby
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
Questions & Answers about Dichtbij zien we een winkel.
Why is the verb zien before the subject we?
This happens because of a rule called inversion. In Dutch, the main verb must be the second piece of information in the sentence. Since this sentence starts with the location Dichtbij (Nearby) in the first position, the subject (we) has to jump behind the verb so that zien stays in position number two.
Can I say Dichtbij we zien een winkel instead?
No, that would sound wrong to a Dutch speaker. If you did that, the verb zien would be pushed into the third position. You must always swap the subject and verb when you start a sentence with a time, place, or object.
How would this sentence look if I just started with We?
If you start with the subject, it goes back to the normal order: We zien dichtbij een winkel. Because We is in position one, zien is naturally in position two, so no swapping is needed. Putting Dichtbij at the front is just a way to emphasize the location.
What does Dichtbij literally mean?
It is a combination of the words dicht (which can mean close or closed) and bij (by or near). Put together, they literally translate to close by.
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