Breakdown of Sinds hij hier werkt, zien we elkaar meer.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hier
here
zien
to see
werken
to work
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
meer
more
elkaar
each other
sinds
since
Questions & Answers about Sinds hij hier werkt, zien we elkaar meer.
Why is the verb werkt at the end of the first clause?
The word sinds is a subordinating conjunction. That means it introduces a dependent clause and kicks the conjugated verb, werkt, all the way to the end of that clause.
Why does the second part say zien we instead of we zien?
This is because of the Dutch V2 rule, which says the verb must be the second element in the main clause. The entire first clause (Sinds hij hier werkt) counts as the first element. To keep the verb in position two, zien has to come immediately after the comma, swapping places with the subject we.
English often uses the past or present perfect here ('Since he started working' or 'Since he has worked'). Why does Dutch use the simple present tense werkt?
When an action started in the past and is still happening right now, Dutch uses the simple present tense. Because he is still working here today, you just use the present tense werkt together with sinds.
What exactly does elkaar mean in this sentence?
Elkaar is a pronoun that means 'each other'. You use it when people are doing an action to one another, so we zien elkaar simply translates to 'we see each other'.
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