Questions & Answers about Ik lunch met mijn collega.
Why doesn't this sentence use a verb like hebben (to have) for "having lunch"?
In Dutch, lunchen is an action verb all on its own. While in English we usually say "I have lunch," in Dutch you simply say Ik lunch (literally "I lunch"). It is conjugated like a regular verb.
Since this lesson is about routines, how would I add "in the afternoons" to this sentence?
You can add the time expression 's middags right after the verb: Ik lunch 's middags met mijn collega. The word 's middags specifically shows that this is a recurring routine that happens in the afternoon.
What if I want to emphasize the time and start the sentence with 's middags?
If you put 's middags at the front, the word order changes. Dutch strictly places the verb in the second position of a main clause. Therefore, the verb (lunch) must come immediately after the time, followed by the subject (ik): 's Middags lunch ik met mijn collega.
How do you make the word collega plural if I have lunch with multiple colleagues?
Because collega ends in a single, open vowel (a), you must add an apostrophe before the s to keep the pronunciation of the vowel long. The plural is collega's (colleagues).
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