Breakdown of De bijen zitten al uren te zoemen.
het uur
the hour / o'clock
al
already
te
to (infinitive marker)
de bij
the bee
Questions & Answers about De bijen zitten al uren te zoemen.
Why does the Dutch sentence use the present tense "zitten" when the English translation says "have been"?
In Dutch, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense. Adding al uren (for hours / literally "already hours") shows how long it has been going on. English requires the "have been doing" structure, but Dutch keeps it simple with the present tense.
What is the purpose of "zitten te" here instead of just using the verb "zoemen"?
The structure zitten te + infinitive is a common way to express the continuous aspect in Dutch, similar to "are buzzing" in English. While you could just say De bijen zoemen al uren, using zitten te zoemen paints a more vivid picture of them staying in one place and doing the action continuously.
Do the bees actually have to be "sitting" for us to use "zitten te"?
Not exactly like a human in a chair, but they do need to be relatively stationary! The verbs zitten, staan, liggen, and lopen are used for continuous actions depending on the subject's physical position. Since bees often rest on flowers or in a hive while buzzing, zitten is the most natural fit here.
Why does "te zoemen" go at the very end of the sentence?