Word
Wij kijken televisie in de woonkamer.
Meaning
We watch television in the living room.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wij kijken televisie in de woonkamer.
kijken
to watch
de televisie
the television
de woonkamer
the living room
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Questions & Answers about Wij kijken televisie in de woonkamer.
Why isn't there an article before televisie?
In Dutch, the activity of watching television is simply expressed as televisie kijken (or tv kijken). You don't use the article de, just like in English where you usually say 'watching television' instead of 'watching the television'.
Could I use We instead of Wij in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. Wij places a bit more emphasis on the people watching (we are doing it, not them). If you just want to state what you are doing in a neutral way, We kijken televisie is perfectly fine and very common.
Does this mean 'We watch' or 'We are watching'?
It can mean both! Dutch doesn't use a separate 'to be doing' form as strictly as English does. Depending on the context, Wij kijken translates to either a general habit ('We watch') or something happening right now ('We are watching').
How is the word woonkamer formed?
It is a compound noun built from the verb stem woon (from wonen, meaning to live or reside) and the noun kamer (room). Put them together and you get the exact equivalent of the English 'living room'.
How could I add a modal particle to make this a casual suggestion?