Word
Zij luistert naar muziek terwijl ze afwast.
Meaning
She listens to music while she washes the dishes.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Zij luistert naar muziek terwijl ze afwast.
zij
she
naar
to
de muziek
the music
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Zij luistert naar muziek terwijl ze afwast.
Why is it afwast as one word, instead of wast af?
Afwassen is a separable verb. In a regular main clause, the prefix splits off and goes to the end (for example, Ze wast af). However, the word terwijl (while) introduces a subordinate clause, which pushes the verb to the end of the sentence. When a separable verb gets pushed to the end like this, the prefix (af) and the verb (wast) glue back together into a single word: afwast.
Does the Dutch verb afwassen automatically mean "washing the dishes"?
Yes, exactly! The verb afwassen specifically means "to wash the dishes" or "to do the washing up." You don't need to add a separate Dutch word for "dishes" here, because the verb already implies the whole activity.
Why does the sentence use Zij at the beginning but ze later on?
Both words mean "she", but zij is stressed (emphasized) and ze is unstressed. Using Zij at the beginning puts a little extra focus on her specifically. Later in the sentence, ze is used because it provides a natural, unstressed flow. You could also just use ze in both places.
Why do we need the word naar here?
In Dutch, the verb luisteren (to listen) always pairs with the preposition naar to mean "listen to." Just like in English, you wouldn't say "She listens music"—you have to include the preposition and say Zij luistert naar muziek.