Breakdown of Waarom doen jullie de was 's avonds?
jullie
you (plural)
doen
to do
waarom
why
's avonds
in the evening
de was
the laundry
Questions & Answers about Waarom doen jullie de was 's avonds?
Why is de was placed before the time adverb 's avonds?
Because de was is a definite direct object (it uses the definite article de). In Dutch, definite direct objects are usually placed before adverbs of time. If you were talking about an indefinite object, like doing a wash (een was), it would come after the time adverb: Waarom doen jullie 's avonds een was?
Is de was doen the standard way to say to do the laundry?
Yes. Just like in English, Dutch uses the verb doen (to do) together with de was (the laundry or the wash) to talk about this household chore.
What does the 's in 's avonds actually mean?
It is an old abbreviation for des, which meant of the or in the. So 's avonds translates to in the evening. You will see this same structure in other time expressions like 's morgens (in the morning) and 's middags (in the afternoon).
Could I use je or u instead of jullie in this sentence?
Yes, depending on who you are talking to. The English sentence just says you, which can be singular or plural. Jullie is the plural informal you. If you were asking one person informally, you would change the verb form and say Waarom doe je de was 's avonds?
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