Breakdown of De studentenkamer was erg vies toen hij aankwam.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
erg
very / really
aankomen
to arrive
Questions & Answers about De studentenkamer was erg vies toen hij aankwam.
Why is it spelled studentenkamer with an -en- in the middle, instead of just studentkamer?
This is a compound noun made of student and kamer. The rule for the connecting -en- is that we use it if the first word (student) has a plural that only ends in -en (studenten). Because the plural of student doesn't end in -s, we link the two words together using -en-.
Why is the verb aankwam at the very end of the sentence and written as one word?
The word toen (when) starts a subordinate clause, which forces the conjugated verb to the end of the sentence. The verb here is the separable verb aankomen (to arrive). In a normal main clause you would split it up (Hij kwam aan), but when the verb is pushed to the end of a subordinate clause, the prefix and the verb are stitched back together into one word (aankwam).
Could I use wanneer instead of toen for "when" in this sentence?
No, because this is describing a single, specific event that happened in the past. In Dutch, you must always use toen for a specific past event. You use wanneer for actual questions ("When did he arrive?") or for repeated events ("Whenever he arrives...").
I've seen erg used to mean "terrible" or "bad". Why does it mean "very" here?
Erg can be both an adjective and an adverb. When used as an adjective to describe a noun, it means "terrible" or "bad" (like in dat is erg - that is terrible). But when you put it directly in front of another adjective like vies (dirty), it acts as an adverb and simply means "very".