Breakdown of We gaan dinsdag naar de markt.
naar
to
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
dinsdag
Tuesday
de markt
the market
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
Questions & Answers about We gaan dinsdag naar de markt.
Why is dinsdag (Tuesday) placed before naar de markt (to the market)?
This sentence shows one of the most important word order rules in Dutch: Time before Place! In English, you usually put the place first ("to the market on Tuesday"), but Dutch does the opposite. Here, dinsdag (the time) must come before naar de markt (the place).
Why isn't there a word for "on" before dinsdag?
You don't always need one! Just like in English where you can say "We go Tuesday," Dutch often leaves out the word for "on" (op) when talking about days of the week. Saying We gaan op dinsdag... would also be perfectly correct.
Can We gaan also mean "We are going"?
Yes! Dutch doesn't have a separate "are -ing" tense like English does. We gaan translates to both "We go" and "We are going", depending on what sounds best in English.
Why do we use naar for "to" here?
Naar is the standard word used for "to" when you are physically moving towards a destination, like a city, a building, or de markt (the market).
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