Breakdown of Hij vouwt nu een trui op.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
een
a/an
nu
now
de trui
the sweater
opvouwen
to fold
Questions & Answers about Hij vouwt nu een trui op.
Why does nu come before een trui in this sentence?
This has to do with word order in the middle of a Dutch sentence. Here, een trui is an indefinite direct object (it uses een instead of de). The rule is that adverbs of time like nu are placed before indefinite objects.
How would the word order change if he were folding "the" sweater instead of "a" sweater?
The sentence would become Hij vouwt de trui nu op. Because de trui is a definite direct object, it must be placed before the time adverb nu.
Why is the word op at the very end of the sentence?
It is part of the separable verb opvouwen (to fold up). In a standard main clause like this one, the conjugated part of the verb (vouwt) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (op) gets kicked all the way to the end of the sentence.
The English translation says "is folding", but the Dutch just uses the simple present vouwt. Why not use the aan het construction?
You certainly can! Hij is nu een trui aan het opvouwen is also perfectly correct. However, Dutch uses the simple present tense to express ongoing actions much more frequently than English does, especially when a time word like nu (now) already makes it clear that the action is currently happening.
Learn Hij vouwt nu een trui op 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