We drinken dinsdag thee in het café.

From Lesson 38:Time before place·Dutch

Questions & Answers about We drinken dinsdag thee in het café.

Why does dinsdag come before in het café?
This sentence is a perfect example of the Dutch Time before Place rule. In English, we usually put the place before the time, but Dutch does the opposite. The time (dinsdag) comes before the place (in het café).
Where does the object (thee) go when there is both a time and a place?
The direct object (thee) usually goes after the time (dinsdag) but before the place (in het café). So the standard Dutch order is Time - Object - Place.
Why isn't the word for Tuesday (dinsdag) capitalized?
Unlike English, Dutch does not capitalize days of the week, months, or seasons unless they are the very first word in a sentence.
Could I start this sentence with dinsdag to emphasize the day?
Yes! You can say Dinsdag drinken we thee in het café. Notice that because the verb must stay in the second position in a Dutch sentence, the subject (we) has to swap places with the verb (drinken).

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