Breakdown of We lopen door de eindeloze woestijn totdat we water vinden.
het water
the water
lopen
to walk
vinden
to find
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
door
through
totdat
until (conjunction)
de woestijn
the desert
eindeloos
endless
Questions & Answers about We lopen door de eindeloze woestijn totdat we water vinden.
Why is the base of the adjective eindeloze spelled with an 'e' in the middle, instead of just being eindlooze?
The suffix -loos (meaning 'without' or '-less') attaches directly to the noun. While the Dutch word for 'end' is sometimes just het eind, it is very commonly het einde. When forming this adjective, the full base einde is used, resulting in eindeloos (endless).
Why does the 's' from the suffix -loos change to a 'z' in eindeloze?
This is a standard Dutch spelling rule. The base adjective is eindeloos. Because it modifies the noun woestijn, it requires the attributive ending -e. When a single s becomes sandwiched between two vowels, it changes to a z to reflect a softer, voiced pronunciation. This happens with all -loos adjectives when they take an -e ending (for example, hopeloos becomes hopeloze).
Could I use the shorter word tot instead of totdat to mean 'until' here?
In strict grammar, no, although you will sometimes hear native speakers do it in casual speech. Tot is a preposition used before noun phrases (like tot het einde). Because we water vinden is a full clause containing its own subject and verb, you must use the conjunction totdat to properly connect it to the main sentence.
Why does the verb vinden get pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The conjunction totdat introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause. A major rule of Dutch grammar that you should always look out for is that subordinate clauses use verb-final word order. This pushes the conjugated verb vinden to the end of that specific clause.
Learn We lopen door de eindeloze woestijn totdat we water vinden and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free