Breakdown of Terwijl we varen, genieten we van het uitzicht op het dek.
op
on
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
genieten van
to enjoy
terwijl
while
het dek
the deck
varen
to sail (travel on water)
het uitzicht
the view
Questions & Answers about Terwijl we varen, genieten we van het uitzicht op het dek.
Could we use boven here instead of op het dek to mean "up on deck"?
You usually wouldn't. While boven means "upstairs" or "above" and is great for buildings, on a ship you specifically say you are op het dek (on the deck). If you were down inside the cabin and wanted to say you were going "upstairs" to the deck, you could say you are going naar boven, but to describe the location itself, op het dek is the standard natural phrase.
Why is it genieten we instead of we genieten?
This is because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first part of the sentence, Terwijl we varen (While we sail), acts as the first block of information. To keep the verb in the second position of the main sentence, the verb genieten must come immediately after that comma, followed by the subject we.
Why is there a van after genieten?
In Dutch, the verb genieten (to enjoy) is almost always followed by the preposition van. When you want to say you enjoy something, you say you genieten van it. So "enjoying the view" translates to genieten van het uitzicht.
Why is varen at the very end of the first clause?
The word terwijl (while) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which pushes the conjugated verb (varen) to the end of that specific clause, right before the comma.
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