Breakdown of We staan te kijken naar de steile piste.
naar
to
kijken
to watch
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
te
to (infinitive marker)
de piste
the ski slope
steil
steep
kijken naar
to look at / to watch
staan te
to be ...-ing (standing)
Questions & Answers about We staan te kijken naar de steile piste.
Why does it say 'staan te kijken' instead of just 'zijn aan het kijken'?
Dutch often expresses the continuous form (actions happening right now) by using a posture verb like staan (to stand), zitten (to sit), liggen (to lie), or lopen (to walk) followed by te and an infinitive. Here, staan te kijken emphasizes that we are physically standing while looking. You could say We zijn naar de piste aan het kijken, but using a posture verb is extremely common and natural in Dutch.
Why is the preposition 'naar' used here to mean 'at'?
In Dutch, the fixed preposition for looking at something is almost always naar. So 'to look at' translates to kijken naar. You will also see this exact same pattern with listening: luisteren naar (to listen to).
Why is it 'steile' with an extra '-e' at the end?
The base adjective is steil (steep). Because it comes directly before the noun piste (which is a de word) and follows the definite article de, it gets the standard -e ending that adjectives take in this position.
Does 'piste' specifically mean a ski slope?
Yes, in this context! While piste can mean a track or arena in other sporting settings (like a cycling track), when talking about mountains or winter sports, it refers directly to a ski slope or ski run. It is a French loanword widely used in Dutch.
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