Breakdown of Waren jullie gisteravond op zolder?
zijn
to be
jullie
you (plural)
op
on
gisteravond
yesterday evening
de zolder
the attic
Questions & Answers about Waren jullie gisteravond op zolder?
Why does the sentence start with Waren?
Waren is the plural simple past tense of zijn (to be). Because this is a yes/no question, the verb moves to the very beginning of the sentence, swapping places with the subject jullie.
Why do we use op (on) instead of in for the attic?
In Dutch, you say you are on the attic (op zolder) rather than in it. This is a fixed preposition phrase you just have to memorize when talking about this specific room.
How is the word gisteravond formed?
It is a combination of gisteren (yesterday) and avond (evening). Notice that when they join together, the -en at the end of gisteren is dropped, creating gisteravond (yesterday evening or last night).
Since this lesson is about had/hadden, could I use hadden here?
No, because hadden means had (possession). Just like in English, you wouldn't say 'Had you guys in the attic?'. You use waren (were) because you are talking about a state of being or a physical location.
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