Breakdown of Op donderdag speelt het kind bij het zwembad.
het kind
the child
spelen
to play
op
on
bij
at / near / by
Questions & Answers about Op donderdag speelt het kind bij het zwembad.
Why is the word order speelt het kind instead of het kind speelt?
Because the sentence starts with the time phrase Op donderdag (On Thursday). Dutch uses a strict rule where the verb must be the second idea in the sentence. Since the time takes up the first spot, the verb speelt takes the second spot, and the subject het kind has to move to come right after it.
How would this sentence look if I started with the subject, Het kind?
It would be: Het kind speelt op donderdag bij het zwembad. The verb speelt stays in the second spot. After that, Dutch follows the "Time before Place" rule, so the time (op donderdag) must come before the place (bij het zwembad).
Why isn't the day of the week (donderdag) capitalized?
Unlike English, Dutch does not capitalize days of the week, months, or seasons. You only use a capital letter if it is the very first word of the entire sentence.
Why do we use bij for "at the pool"? Could we use in?
Bij usually translates to "at", "by", or "near". Using bij het zwembad means the child is playing around the pool area. If you say in het zwembad, it means the child is specifically inside the water. Both are correct to say, they just paint a slightly different picture!