Breakdown of Aanstaande dinsdag geven we een feest, want de première is uitverkocht!
zijn
to be
een
a/an
het feest
the party
want
because
dinsdag
Tuesday
geven
to give
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
de première
the premiere
aanstaande
upcoming / next (this coming)
uitverkocht
sold out
Questions & Answers about Aanstaande dinsdag geven we een feest, want de première is uitverkocht!
Why does this sentence use the present tense (geven) for a future event?
In Dutch, you can comfortably use the simple present tense to talk about future plans, as long as the sentence includes a specific time phrase. Here, Aanstaande dinsdag (This coming Tuesday) makes it entirely clear that the event is in the future. Because of this time phrase, the present tense geven is natural and you don't need to add future helper verbs like zullen (will) or gaan (going to).
Why is it geven we instead of we geven?
Because the sentence starts with the time phrase Aanstaande dinsdag. In Dutch, the main conjugated verb must sit in the second position of a main clause. When you start the sentence with something other than the subject to emphasize it, the subject (we) gets pushed right after the verb (geven). This subject-verb swap is called inversion.
Can I translate "throwing a party" literally and say een feest gooien?
No, that would sound very funny in Dutch! The standard Dutch expression is "to give a party," which translates to een feest geven.
Want means "because." Doesn't "because" usually push the verb to the end of the sentence in Dutch?
You are thinking of omdat, which also means "because" but is a subordinating conjunction, meaning it forces all verbs to the end of its clause. Want, on the other hand, is a coordinating conjunction. It acts like a simple bridge between two normal, independent sentences and does not change the word order. That is why is stays right after the subject (de première). If you used omdat, it would be: ...omdat de première uitverkocht is!
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