Breakdown of Is hij gisteren naar de pinautomaat gefietst?
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
naar
to
fietsen
to cycle
gisteren
yesterday
de pinautomaat
the ATM
Questions & Answers about Is hij gisteren naar de pinautomaat gefietst?
Why does this sentence use is instead of heeft for the verb fietsen?
Because the sentence includes a specific destination (naar de pinautomaat). Verbs of motion like fietsen (to cycle) use zijn as their helping verb when describing a completed journey from A to B. If he had just been cycling around for exercise without a destination, you would use hebben (Hij heeft gisteren gefietst).
Why does gisteren come before naar de pinautomaat?
In Dutch, time expressions almost always come before place expressions. The standard rule for the middle of a sentence is Time-Manner-Place (TMP). Therefore, gisteren (time) is placed before the destination naar de pinautomaat (place).
What exactly does pinautomaat mean?
It is the Dutch word for an ATM or cash machine. It comes from the verb pinnen, which means to pay with a debit card or to withdraw cash, and automaat (machine).
Why is gefietst at the very end of the sentence?
In the Dutch perfect tense, the past participle (gefietst) always gets pushed to the end of the clause. The helping verb (is) starts the sentence because it is a yes/no question, and all the extra details are sandwiched in between.
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