Breakdown of Mijn zus is morgen jarig.
de zus
the sister
morgen
tomorrow
mijn
my
jarig
having one's birthday
Questions & Answers about Mijn zus is morgen jarig.
The lesson is about using gaan for the future. Why don't we say Mijn zus gaat morgen jarig zijn?
Dutch very often uses the simple present tense plus a future time word (like morgen, tomorrow) for fixed plans, schedules, or certainties. While gaat morgen jarig zijn isn't grammatically impossible, using the present tense here sounds much more natural to a Dutch speaker.
Why does the Dutch sentence use is instead of "has a birthday"?
In Dutch, having a birthday is expressed with the adjective jarig used with the verb zijn (to be). So instead of saying someone "has a birthday", you literally say they "are birthday-ing".
Why is the word morgen placed in the middle of the sentence?
In a standard Dutch main clause, the working verb (is) must be the second idea in the sentence. Time words like morgen typically come right after the verb, which pushes the adjective (jarig) to the very end of the sentence.
Can I start the sentence with morgen?
Yes, you can! But remember that Dutch uses "inversion" when a sentence starts with something other than the subject. Because the verb must stay in the second position, the subject and verb swap places: Morgen is mijn zus jarig.
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