Questions & Answers about Het is vandaag ijskoud op de piste.
How would I use the 'al' structure from this lesson to say 'Even though it is freezing cold on the ski slope today, I am going skiing'?
You would start with al followed immediately by the verb: Al is het vandaag ijskoud op de piste, ik ga toch skiën. Notice that the main clause that follows uses normal word order (ik ga), which is a special feature of this structure.
Why does vandaag come before ijskoud and op de piste?
Dutch typically follows the Time-Manner-Place rule for word order. Vandaag (today) is the time, ijskoud (ice cold) acts as the manner, and op de piste (on the ski slope) is the place.
What exactly is a piste?
It is a loanword from French used for a prepared track or trail. In winter sports contexts like this one, it specifically means a ski slope or ski run.
If I want to say I am freezing cold, can I say ik ben ijskoud?