Questions & Answers about Wij kweken sinds de lente bijen.
Why does this sentence use the present tense kweken instead of a past tense, since they started breeding bees in the spring?
In Dutch, when an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense. English uses the present perfect continuous ("have been breeding"). The word sinds (since) makes it clear that the action started in the past and is ongoing.
The lesson mentions using both al and sinds for ongoing actions. Could I say al de lente here instead?
No, you need to use sinds here because de lente is a specific starting point in time (since the spring). You use al when you are talking about a length or duration of time (for example, al drie maanden - for three months).
Why does the time expression sinds de lente come before the object bijen?
In Dutch, expressions of time (like sinds de lente) usually come before the direct object. This is a very strict rule when the object is general or indefinite, like "bees" (bijen), rather than a specific object like "the bees" (de bijen).
I've seen kweken used for growing plants. Is it normal to use it for animals like bees?