Breakdown of We zouden oorspronkelijk buiten eten, maar we hebben alsnog binnen gegeten.
maar
but
wij
we
hebben
to have
eten
to eat
buiten
outside
binnen
inside
zullen
shall / will
oorspronkelijk
originally
alsnog
after all
Questions & Answers about We zouden oorspronkelijk buiten eten, maar we hebben alsnog binnen gegeten.
Why do we use zouden to mean 'were going to'?
In Dutch, zou or zouden combined with an infinitive (here, eten) is used to express the 'future in the past.' It describes a plan or intention that existed in the past, which often ended up changing. It works exactly like the English phrases 'was/were going to' or 'would'.
What does alsnog mean here?
Alsnog is a very handy adverb that means 'after all,' 'yet,' or 'still.' In this sentence, it emphasizes that despite the original plan changing, the main event (eating) still happened—just indoors (binnen).
Why doesn't the word order change after maar?
Maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction, meaning it simply links two independent sentences without affecting their word order. So, the second clause follows the normal main clause pattern: the subject (we) is followed immediately by the conjugated verb (hebben).
Why does the sentence switch from a past tense idea (zouden) to the present perfect (hebben gegeten)?
The first half focuses on a past plan ('we were going to...'), which requires the past-tense form zouden. The second half states what actually ended up happening ('we ate'). In conversational Dutch, the present perfect (hebben gegeten) is the standard and most natural tense for stating a completed past action.
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