Breakdown of We wandelen samen zonder op onze smartphone te kijken.
samen
together
op
on
wandelen
to walk (for pleasure)
kijken
to watch
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
te
to (infinitive marker)
zonder
without
de smartphone
the smartphone
Questions & Answers about We wandelen samen zonder op onze smartphone te kijken.
Where exactly do the words go in a zonder ... te phrase?
In a zonder ... te (without ...-ing) clause, zonder starts the phrase, and te plus the full infinitive verb (kijken) go at the very end. All the extra details, like op onze smartphone, are sandwiched in the middle.
Why does the sentence use op instead of naar for "looking at"?
Normally, "to look at" translates to kijken naar. However, when you look at a screen, a phone, a watch, or a map, Dutch uses op (literally "on"). Therefore, it has to be op onze smartphone kijken.
Why does "looking" translate to te kijken instead of a continuous form like kijkend?
In English, prepositions like "without" are followed by an "-ing" verb ("without looking"). Dutch grammar handles this differently: it doesn't use its "-ing" equivalent (kijkend) after prepositions. Instead, it always uses an infinitive clause with te.
Why is it onze smartphone and not ons smartphone?
Because smartphone is a de-word (de smartphone). In Dutch, the word for "our" is onze for de-words and all plurals. You only use ons for singular het-words, like ons scherm (our screen).
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