Questions & Answers about Wij eten eerst de soep.
Why is it eerst instead of eerste from the lesson?
Eerste is the adjective meaning "1st" (like in "the first day"). In this sentence, eerst is used as an adverb meaning "firstly" or "first of all". We drop the -e at the end when using it this way.
Why isn't eerst at the very beginning of the sentence?
You can put it at the beginning, but it changes the word order! If you start with Eerst, the verb must stay in the second position: Eerst eten wij de soep. In our sentence, Wij is the first idea, so the verb comes second, and eerst follows.
Does eerst follow the regular rule for making ordinal numbers?
No, it is completely irregular. Usually, you add -de or -ste to a number. But just like English changes "one" to "first", Dutch changes een to eerste (or eerst).
Why does eerst come before de soep?
In Dutch, words that tell you when something happens (like time words or sequencing words like eerst) generally come before the direct object (de soep).
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