Breakdown of Morgen begint de staking pas.
beginnen
to begin
morgen
tomorrow
pas
only / not until (of time)
de staking
the strike
Questions & Answers about Morgen begint de staking pas.
Why does the English translation use 'not until' when the Dutch sentence has no negative word like 'niet'?
The word pas means 'only' or 'not earlier than'. When used with a time expression like Morgen, it expresses that the event won't happen before then. While English says 'not until tomorrow', Dutch uses the positive phrasing morgen ... pas (literally 'tomorrow ... only').
Why is the verb begint placed before the subject de staking?
Because the sentence starts with the time word Morgen. In Dutch, the main verb must always be the second idea in the sentence. When you put anything other than the subject at the front, the subject and verb must swap places (inversion).
Could I start the sentence with the subject instead of the time?
Yes! You can say De staking begint pas morgen. In that case, pas is placed right before the time word it modifies to emphasize 'only tomorrow'. In our example sentence, Morgen was moved to the front for emphasis, leaving pas at the end.
Can I translate 'not until' literally and use niet tot morgen?
No, that is a direct translation from English and sounds very unnatural in Dutch. To say something won't happen until a certain time, always use pas without any negative words like niet.
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