Breakdown of De wedstrijd begint om kwart over acht.
acht
eight
beginnen
to begin
om
at (time)
het kwart
the quarter
over
past, in (time)
de wedstrijd
the match / the game
Questions & Answers about De wedstrijd begint om kwart over acht.
Why do we use om here instead of another word for 'at'?
In Dutch, the preposition om is always used for exact times on the clock. Whenever you want to say 'at a certain time' (like at 8:15), you use om.
How does kwart over acht work compared to how Dutch handles half hours?
While half hours in Dutch look forward to the next hour (for example, half negen means 8:30), the quarters work just like in English. Kwart over acht is simply 'a quarter past eight' (8:15) and kwart voor acht is 'a quarter to eight' (7:45).
What happens to the word order if I want to put the time at the very beginning of the sentence?
If you start with Om kwart over acht, the verb and subject must swap places. This is a rule called inversion. The sentence would become: Om kwart over acht begint de wedstrijd.
Is there another common verb I could use here instead of begint?
Yes, you could use start (from the verb starten). For events like sports matches, concerts, or movies, beginnen and starten mean the exact same thing and are both widely used.
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