Breakdown of Drink jij liever water of wijn bij dat voorgerecht?
jij
you
drinken
to drink
het water
the water
dat
that (het-words)
liever
rather (prefer)
bij
at / near / by
de wijn
the wine
of
or
het voorgerecht
the starter / the appetizer
Questions & Answers about Drink jij liever water of wijn bij dat voorgerecht?
Why is liever used here instead of a verb for 'prefer'?
In Dutch, preferences are usually expressed by adding the adverb liever (rather) to the action verb. So Drink jij liever... literally means 'Drink you rather...', which we translate as 'Do you prefer to drink...'.
Why does the sentence use bij instead of met for 'with'?
When talking about a drink or side dish that goes along with a meal, Dutch uses the preposition bij instead of met. You will often see this in restaurants, like een glas wijn bij het eten (a glass of wine with the meal).
Why is it dat voorgerecht and not die voorgerecht?
The word for starter or appetizer is het voorgerecht. Because it is a het word, you must use dat to say 'that'. For de words, you would use die.
What is the literal translation of voorgerecht?
It literally means 'before dish'. It combines voor (before) and gerecht (dish or course). By the same logic, a main course is called het hoofdgerecht and dessert is het nagerecht.
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