Word
De minister is aan het wachten op het resultaat van de verkiezing.
Meaning
The minister is waiting for the result of the election.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De minister is aan het wachten op het resultaat van de verkiezing.
zijn
to be
op
on
wachten
to wait
het resultaat
the result
Questions & Answers about De minister is aan het wachten op het resultaat van de verkiezing.
The current lesson is about words like 'ergens'. How would I use that to say 'The minister is waiting for something'?
You would use ergens op. Because the verb wachten (to wait) uses the fixed preposition op, 'waiting for something' translates to ergens op wachten. The sentence becomes: De minister is ergens op aan het wachten.
Why does the sentence use op instead of voor to mean 'waiting for'?
In Dutch, the verb wachten has a fixed preposition: it is always wachten op (to wait for). Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word from English, so it is always best to memorize them together with their verbs.
How would I change this sentence to say the minister is waiting for nothing?
Following the rules for pronominal adverbs, you combine nergens (nowhere/nothing) with the preposition op. The sentence becomes: De minister is nergens op aan het wachten.
Could I just say De minister wacht op het resultaat instead of using is aan het wachten?
Yes, you can! Both sentences are grammatically correct. Dutch doesn't require a continuous form like English does. However, using is aan het wachten strongly emphasizes that the waiting is an active, ongoing process happening right at this moment.