Breakdown of Laten we vandaag vreedzaam demonstreren.
vandaag
today
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
laten
to let (laten we ... = let's ...)
vreedzaam
peaceful
Questions & Answers about Laten we vandaag vreedzaam demonstreren.
How does the grammar of laten we work to mean "let's" in this sentence?
Laten we literally means "let us". To make a suggestion, you use laten we at the beginning, and then push the main action verb—in this case, the full dictionary form demonstreren—to the very end of the sentence.
Why is vandaag placed before vreedzaam?
This follows the standard Dutch word order rule of Time-Manner-Place. Vandaag (today) tells us the time, so it comes before vreedzaam (peacefully), which tells us the manner (how the action is done).
Does vreedzaam need a special ending because it means "peacefully" instead of "peaceful"?
No, in Dutch, adverbs (words that describe how an action is done) look exactly the same as the basic adjective. Vreedzaam can mean "peaceful" or "peacefully" without adding a special ending like "-ly" in English.
What does the suffix -zaam mean in vreedzaam?
It is a common ending used to turn nouns or verbs into adjectives. Here, it is added to the root of vrede (peace) to make vreedzaam (peaceful/peacefully). It works a lot like the English suffix "-ful".