Learn Dutch: We zullen dat pakket vanmiddag ontvangen. - We will receive that package this afternoon.

We zullen dat pakket vanmiddag ontvangen.

We will receive that package this afternoon.

Breakdown of We zullen dat pakket vanmiddag ontvangen.

Questions & Answers about We zullen dat pakket vanmiddag ontvangen.

Why is ontvangen at the very end of the sentence?

This is the classic Dutch verb bracket. When you use a modal verb like zullen (will), it takes the second position in the sentence. The main action verb, which is ontvangen (to receive), gets pushed all the way to the end in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).

Could I change the order and say We zullen vanmiddag dat pakket ontvangen?

Yes, absolutely! Dutch is quite flexible with the words caught inside the verb bracket. In fact, time words like vanmiddag (this afternoon) usually prefer to go as early as possible, so putting it before dat pakket sounds very natural to native speakers.

Why do we use dat instead of die for "that package"?

Because pakket is a "het-word" (het pakket). When you want to say "that" for a "het-word", you must use dat. If it were a "de-word", you would use die. This is a great rule to remember from earlier lessons!

Why does vanmiddag mean "this afternoon" when van usually means "from" or "of"?

In Dutch, combining van with a part of the day is the standard way to refer to the current day. You will see this pattern often: vanmorgen means "this morning", vanmiddag means "this afternoon", and vanavond means "this evening".