Word
De wedstrijd duurt ongeveer twee uur.
Meaning
The match lasts approximately two hours.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De wedstrijd duurt ongeveer twee uur.
twee
two
het uur
the hour / o'clock
duren
to last / to take time
ongeveer
approximately / about (quantity)
Questions & Answers about De wedstrijd duurt ongeveer twee uur.
The current lesson is about time prepositions. Why isn't there a preposition for 'for' here, like 'for two hours'?
When using the verb duren (to last) to talk about a duration, Dutch doesn't use a preposition like the English 'for'. You just state the amount of time directly: duurt twee uur.
Why is it twee uur (singular) instead of twee uren (plural)?
In Dutch, words for units of time, weight, and measurement usually stay in the singular form when they come after a number. That's why it is twee uur (two hours) and not twee uren.
If I wanted to say 'The match takes about two hours', could I use the verb nemen (to take)?
No, to express how much time an event takes or lasts, you always use duren. You cannot use nemen to describe the duration of an event like a match, a class, or a movie.
Where does the word ongeveer (approximately) have to go in the sentence?
Ongeveer is placed directly before the quantity or amount it modifies. Here, it sits right in front of twee uur to show that the amount of time is an estimate.