Breakdown of De tieners waren gisteren op de middelbare school.
zijn
to be
op
on
gisteren
yesterday
de tiener
the teenager
Questions & Answers about De tieners waren gisteren op de middelbare school.
Why do we use waren instead of was here?
Waren is the plural simple past tense of zijn (to be). Because the subject de tieners (the teenagers) is plural, we use waren. If the sentence were about just one teenager, it would use the singular form: De tiener was.
Why is gisteren placed before the location?
Dutch follows a general word order rule where time comes before place. Time words like gisteren (yesterday) usually come right after the verb, before the location which is op de middelbare school (at the high school).
Why does the sentence use op instead of bij or aan for 'at'?
In Dutch, you use the preposition op when talking about being at or attending a school. You will commonly hear phrases like ik ben op school (I am at school) or being op de middelbare school.
Does middelbare school mean 'middle school'?
Literally, yes, it translates to 'middle school'. However, in the Dutch and Belgian education systems, it actually means 'high school' or secondary school, which teenagers attend from around age 12 to 18.