Breakdown of De pauze is van één tot half twee.
zijn
to be
één
one
twee
two
half
half (past) / half (fraction)
tot
until
de pauze
break
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
Questions & Answers about De pauze is van één tot half twee.
Why do we use tot instead of naar for "to" in this sentence?
When talking about time or duration, Dutch uses the combination van ... tot (from ... until/to). You only use naar for "to" when talking about physical movement or direction from one place to another.
Doesn't half twee literally mean "half two"? Why is it translated as "half past one"?
Yes, it literally translates to "half two", but for telling time, Dutch looks forward to the next hour! In Dutch, half twee means "halfway to two o'clock" (1:30). If you wanted to say "half past two" (2:30), you would say half drie. This is a very common trap for English speakers!
Why are there accent marks on the word één?
The accents show that it is the number "one" (één) and not the article "a/an" (een). Because they share the same letters, the accents tell you to pronounce it with a long "ay" sound instead of a short, relaxed "uhn" sound.
Can I add the word uur (o'clock) to this sentence?
You could say van één uur for the first part, though it is often dropped when the context is obvious. However, you never use uur after a "half" hour. It is always just half twee, never half twee uur.
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