Questions & Answers about Proost! Het feest begint nu.
Why is it het feest and not de feest?
In Dutch, every noun takes either de or het for the word "the". The word feest (party) is a "neuter" noun, so it always takes het. Because there is no simple rule for this, it is best to memorize the "the" word together with the noun when you learn it!
The translation says "is starting", but begint just means "starts". Why don't we use an "ing" form here?
Dutch does not use a continuous "is doing" form nearly as often as English does. To say "The party is starting", you simply use the normal present tense: Het feest begint (literally: The party starts).
Could I put nu at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize "now"?
Yes, but you have to change the word order! In Dutch, the verb must always be the second main piece of the sentence. If you start with Nu, the verb begint must come right after it, swapping places with the subject. The sentence becomes: Nu begint het feest.
Is Proost used exactly the same way as "Cheers" in English?
It is used the exact same way when clinking glasses before taking a drink. However, unlike in British English, you cannot use Proost as a casual way to say "Thank you" or "Goodbye".
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