Breakdown of Jullie moeten die oefening om half vier doen.
jullie
you (plural)
vier
four
doen
to do
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
Questions & Answers about Jullie moeten die oefening om half vier doen.
Why is doen at the very end of the sentence?
This is the Verb Bracket in action! When you use a modal verb like moeten (must), it takes the normal second position in the sentence. The main action verb, doen (to do), is pushed all the way to the end in its full dictionary form.
Wait, doesn't half vier mean half past four?
No, in Dutch, it means half past three! Dutch time-telling looks ahead to the next hour. So half vier literally means halfway to four o'clock (3:30). If you wanted to say half past four, you would use half vijf.
Why do we use om before the time?
The word om is the preposition used for times on the clock. It translates perfectly to 'at' in English, making om half vier mean 'at half past three'.
Could I use jij instead of jullie here?
Only if you are talking to exactly one person. Jullie is the plural 'you' (like 'you all'). If you were telling just one person to do the exercise, you would say Jij moet, changing both the pronoun and the verb.
Why is it die oefening and not dat oefening?