Breakdown of Wij zijn deze solo al anderhalve maand aan het instuderen.
zijn
to be
wij
we
deze
this / these
het
it
al
already
aan
on / at (attached to, edge)
de maand
the month
anderhalf
one and a half
de solo
the solo
instuderen
to rehearse / to learn (a piece)
Questions & Answers about Wij zijn deze solo al anderhalve maand aan het instuderen.
Why is it maand (singular) and not maanden (plural) when the English translation says "months"?
In Dutch, the fractional word for "one and a half" (anderhalf or anderhalve) is always followed by a singular noun. So while English uses the plural "months," Dutch literally says "one and a half month" (anderhalve maand).
Why do we use anderhalve with an -e at the end instead of just anderhalf?
Because maand is a de-word (de maand). When the following noun is a de-word, you must add an -e to get anderhalve. If you were talking about a het-word like jaar (year), you would use the uninflected form: anderhalf jaar.
The English translation says "have been practicing," but the Dutch sentence uses the present tense (zijn). Why?
When an action started in the past and is still happening now, Dutch simply uses the present tense. By combining the present continuous structure (zijn ... aan het instuderen) with a duration (al anderhalve maand), it perfectly expresses the English present perfect continuous ("have been practicing").
What is the function of al in this sentence?
Al literally means "already," but here it emphasizes the duration of the action. When combined with a time phrase indicating how long something has been going on, it often translates smoothly to "for" in English ("for a month and a half").
Instuderen is a separable verb. Why isn't it split in this sentence?
You're right that instuderen (to rehearse or practice a piece) is separable (in + studeren). However, in the aan het continuous construction, the main verb always goes at the very end of the clause as a full, undivided infinitive.
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