Breakdown of Fietsen ze zaterdag naar het strand?
naar
to
fietsen
to cycle
het strand
the beach
zaterdag
Saturday
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Fietsen ze zaterdag naar het strand?
Why does zaterdag come before naar het strand?
This is the Time before Place rule in action! In English, we usually put the place first (to the beach on Saturday). But in Dutch, the time (zaterdag) almost always comes before the destination or place (naar het strand).
Why doesn't the Dutch sentence use a word for 'do' like in 'Do they cycle'?
Dutch doesn't use helper verbs like 'do' or 'does' to ask questions. Instead, you just swap the subject and the verb. A normal statement is ze fietsen (they cycle), and to turn it into a question, you simply flip it to Fietsen ze (cycle they?).
Why is there no word for 'on' before zaterdag?
In Dutch, you can just state the name of the day to mean 'on that day'. You could use the preposition op and say op zaterdag, but leaving it out is very common and perfectly correct.
Can I use zij instead of ze in this sentence?
Yes, you can. The word ze is the unstressed form of 'they', which is used in everyday speech. You would only use the stressed form zij if you wanted to emphasize exactly who is doing the action (for example, 'Are THEY cycling to the beach, or is someone else?').
Learn Fietsen ze zaterdag naar het strand and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free