Breakdown of Wij waren vrienden op de middelbare school.
zijn
to be
wij
we
de vriend
the friend
op
on
de middelbare school
the high school
Questions & Answers about Wij waren vrienden op de middelbare school.
Why is the verb waren instead of was?
waren is the plural simple past form of zijn (to be). Because the subject of this sentence is wij (we), you need the plural form. You would use was for singular subjects like ik (I) or hij (he).
Why do we use op instead of in for "in high school"?
In Dutch, the preposition op is used to express attending an educational institution. You say op school (at/in school) or op de universiteit (at college). You would only use in if you were talking specifically about being inside the physical building.
What does middelbare literally mean here?
It translates to "middle" or "intermediate". In the Dutch school system, de middelbare school is the equivalent of high school or secondary school—the step between primary school and higher education.
Why is there an -e at the end of middelbare?
school is a de-word (de school). When you put an adjective right before a de-word, it almost always gets an extra -e. The base form of the adjective is middelbaar.
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