Learn Dutch: Hij zal het bericht vanmiddag schrijven. - He will write the message this afternoon.

This is the "verb bracket" in action! When you use a helping verb like zal (will) in the second position of a sentence, the main action verb (schrijven) gets pushed to the very end in its full dictionary form (infinitive).

Can I put vanmiddag before het bericht?

It is better to put it after. In Dutch, a specific object like het bericht (the message) usually comes before time words like vanmiddag (this afternoon). However, if you want to emphasize when it happens, you can put the time at the very beginning: Vanmiddag zal hij het bericht schrijven.

Why is the verb zal instead of zullen?

Zal is the singular form of the verb zullen (will/shall). You use zal for ik, jij, hij, zij (she), and het. The full form zullen is only used for plural pronouns like wij (we), jullie (you all), or zij (they).

How does vanmiddag translate to "this afternoon" if van usually means "from" or "of"?