Breakdown of Wij hebben ons verheugd op het weekend om uit te rusten.
wij
we
hebben
to have
het weekend
the weekend
uitrusten
to rest
Questions & Answers about Wij hebben ons verheugd op het weekend om uit te rusten.
Why do we use hebben here as the helping verb for the present perfect?
The verb is zich verheugen (to look forward to). Because it is a reflexive verb, it must always use hebben to form the present perfect tense in Dutch, never zijn.
Why does ons go right after hebben?
In a standard main clause in the present perfect, the reflexive pronoun (like ons) is placed immediately after the conjugated helping verb (hebben). The past participle (verheugd) gets pushed further back in the sentence.
Why do we use the preposition op before the weekend?
It belongs to the verb! The fixed combination is zich verheugen op (to look forward to). You need op to introduce the thing you are excited about, which is het weekend here.
Why is the word te stuck inside uitrusten?
Uitrusten (to rest) is a separable verb made of the prefix uit and the verb rusten. When you use a separable verb with te, the te squeezes right between the prefix and the verb, making it uit te rusten.