Breakdown of Overmorgen openen we het theater voor de première.
voor
to (time), before
openen
to open
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
overmorgen
the day after tomorrow
het theater
the theater
de première
the premiere
Questions & Answers about Overmorgen openen we het theater voor de première.
The translation says 'We are opening', but openen is in the present tense. Why?
Dutch frequently uses the simple present tense to talk about the future. As long as you include a time word that points to the future—in this case, overmorgen (the day after tomorrow)—the future meaning is perfectly clear. This is the most common way to express scheduled plans.
Why is the word order openen we instead of we openen?
This is due to the verb-second rule. Because you started the sentence with the time word overmorgen, the verb openen must take the second position. This pushes the subject we into the third position. If you started with the subject instead, it would be: We openen overmorgen het theater.
How does the word overmorgen work?
It is a combination of over (past/over) and morgen (tomorrow), literally meaning 'past tomorrow' or 'the day after tomorrow'. You can use a similar logic for the past: eergisteren means 'the day before yesterday'.
Would it be wrong to use gaan (to go) or zullen (will) here to show it happens in the future?
It wouldn't be grammatically wrong to say Overmorgen gaan we het theater openen, but it is mostly unnecessary. Because opening a theater for a premiere is a firmly scheduled event, using the simple present tense is the most natural and direct way to say this in Dutch.
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