Breakdown of Ze waren aan het repeteren totdat hij het script zag.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
zien
to see
aan
on / at (attached to, edge)
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
totdat
until (conjunction)
repeteren
to rehearse
het script
the script
Questions & Answers about Ze waren aan het repeteren totdat hij het script zag.
How does this sentence show that the action was ongoing in the past?
It uses the past continuous structure: waren (the past plural of zijn, meaning 'were') followed by aan het and the infinitive repeteren. Just like in English, this shows they were in the middle of doing something when something else happened.
Why is the verb zag at the very end of the sentence?
The word totdat (until) introduces a subclause. In Dutch subclauses, the conjugated verb (zag) always gets pushed to the very end of that part of the sentence.
What is the difference between tot and totdat?
Tot is used before a noun or a time, like in tot morgen (until tomorrow). Totdat is used to connect two full clauses, meaning it must be followed by a subject and a verb, as in totdat hij het script zag (until he saw the script).
Since ze can mean 'she' or 'they', how do we know it means 'they' here?
We look at the verb that follows it! Because the sentence uses the plural verb waren (were) instead of the singular was (was), we know ze means 'they' in this context.
What is the infinitive form of zag?
The infinitive is zien (to see). Zag is the simple past form for a singular subject, meaning 'saw'.
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