Breakdown of Waarom ben je dit contract aan het kopiëren?
zijn
to be
dit
this (neuter)
waarom
why
het contract
the contract
Questions & Answers about Waarom ben je dit contract aan het kopiëren?
Why is dit contract placed before aan het kopiëren?
In Dutch, when using the present continuous structure (zijn aan het + infinitive), the direct object usually goes between the conjugated verb (ben) and the aan het part. You can think of ben ... aan het kopiëren as a bracket that surrounds the object. English puts the object at the end (copying this contract), but Dutch tucks it inside the bracket.
Why does kopiëren have two dots on the 'e'?
Those dots are called a trema. It is used in Dutch to show that a vowel starts a new syllable, rather than combining with the previous vowel. Without it, the 'ie' in kopieren would sound like the 'ie' in zien. The trema tells you to pronounce the 'e' separately.
Why do we use dit contract instead of deze contract?
Contract is a neuter word (het contract). When you want to say 'this' with a het-word, you must use dit. You only use deze for de-words. It is very common to mix these up, so it always helps to memorize the article when you learn a new noun.
Could I use jij instead of je in this sentence?