Breakdown of Hij werkt maandag in de bibliotheek.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
werken
to work
in
in
maandag
Monday
Questions & Answers about Hij werkt maandag in de bibliotheek.
Why does maandag come before in de bibliotheek?
This sentence shows a very important Dutch word order rule: Time before Place! In English, we usually say the place first (in the library) and then the time (on Monday). In Dutch, you put the time (maandag) before the place (in de bibliotheek).
Why isn't there a word for "on" before maandag?
In Dutch, you can often just use the day of the week by itself to mean "on that day". You could also say op maandag (on Monday), but leaving out op is very common and perfectly correct.
What happens to the word order if I start the sentence with maandag?
You can absolutely start with the time, but you have to remember the strict "verb second" rule. The verb (werkt) must stay in the second slot of the sentence. So, the subject (hij) moves after the verb to make room: Maandag werkt hij in de bibliotheek.
Why is it de bibliotheek and not het bibliotheek?
Bibliotheek is a "de-word". While you often just have to memorize whether a word takes de or het, here is a helpful trick: almost all Dutch words that end in -theek (like apotheek, which means pharmacy) will always use de.