Breakdown of In de winter willen we schaatsen.
in
in
willen
to want
de winter
the winter
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
schaatsen
to ice skate
Questions & Answers about In de winter willen we schaatsen.
Why is it in de winter instead of just in winter?
In Dutch, when you talk about seasons, you almost always use the definite article de. So, while in English you say 'in winter', in Dutch you must say In de winter (literally 'in the winter').
Why does the verb willen come before the subject we?
Does willen mean 'will' in English?
No, willen is a false friend. It looks like 'will' but it actually means 'to want'. If you want to talk about the future and say 'we will ice skate', you would use the Dutch verb zullen.
Why is schaatsen at the very end of the sentence?
When you use a helper verb like willen (to want), the second verb in the sentence (schaatsen) gets pushed to the very end in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).
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