Breakdown of Wij poetsen altijd onze tanden.
wij
we
altijd
always
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
poetsen
to brush
de tand
the tooth
Questions & Answers about Wij poetsen altijd onze tanden.
Why is the verb poetsen used here instead of a word that literally means "brush"?
In Dutch, you don't "brush" your teeth, you "polish" or "clean" them. Poetsen is the standard verb used for cleaning teeth (tanden poetsen) or shoes, whereas a word like borstelen is used for brushing your hair or a pet's fur.
Why is it onze tanden and not ons tanden?
Tanden (teeth) is plural, and all plural nouns behave as de-words in Dutch. For de-words, the possessive pronoun for "our" is onze. You only use ons for singular het-words (like ons huis).
Why does altijd come before onze tanden?
In Dutch word order, adverbs of time like altijd (always) typically come before the direct object. The direct object here is the thing receiving the action: onze tanden.
How would I add 's avonds (in the evening) to this sentence to fit the current lesson?
You would place it next to the other time word. For example: Wij poetsen 's avonds altijd onze tanden. You can also put the genitive of time at the very beginning for emphasis: 's Avonds poetsen wij altijd onze tanden. Remember that if you start with 's Avonds, the verb poetsen must stay in the second position!
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