Breakdown of Terwijl ze chatten, leren ze veel over elkaar.
veel
much / many / a lot of
leren
to learn
over
about
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
elkaar
each other
terwijl
while
chatten
to chat (online)
Questions & Answers about Terwijl ze chatten, leren ze veel over elkaar.
How does over elkaar work, and does it ever combine into one word?
Elkaar means "each other", and here it follows the preposition over because the phrase is leren over (to learn about). Unlike words with er or daar (which combine into words like erover), prepositions always stay separate from elkaar. You just write them as two words: over elkaar.
Could I say leren van elkaar instead of leren over elkaar?
Grammatically yes, but it changes the meaning! Leren over elkaar means learning about each other (finding out about the other person's life or personality). Leren van elkaar means learning from each other (teaching one another skills or life lessons).
Why does the second part of the sentence say leren ze instead of ze leren?
This happens because of the Dutch "Verb Second" rule. The entire first clause, Terwijl ze chatten, counts as the first block of information in the sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, leren has to come right after the comma, swapping places with the subject ze. This is called inversion.
What word order rule is being used in the first part, Terwijl ze chatten?
Terwijl (while) is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a dependent clause and pushes all verbs to the end of that clause. Because this specific clause is so short, the verb chatten happens to look like it's in a normal subject-verb position, but it is actually sitting in the mandatory end position!
Learn Terwijl ze chatten, leren ze veel over elkaar and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free