Breakdown of Ik vraag of de attractie vandaag open is.
ik
I
zijn
to be
vandaag
today
open
open
vragen
to ask
of
if / whether
de attractie
the attraction
Questions & Answers about Ik vraag of de attractie vandaag open is.
Why does the verb is go at the very end of the sentence?
Because the word of introduces a subclause (a dependent part of the sentence). In Dutch, subclauses push the conjugated verb to the very end. So instead of keeping the normal order, the is moves to the end.
I thought the Dutch word for "if" was als. Why is of used here?
English uses "if" for two different things: conditions ("If it rains...") and indirect questions ("I ask if it is open"). In Dutch, you use als for conditions, but you must use of for indirect yes/no questions. You can think of of as meaning "whether" in this sentence.
Could I put vandaag at the end of the sentence, like in English?
No, because the verb-final rule for subclauses is very strict! The conjugated verb (is) must be the very last word. Also, Dutch generally prefers to place time words like vandaag early in the sentence, right after the subject (de attractie).
Is vraag a noun or a verb here? I remember learning de vraag as "the question".
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