Breakdown of Tijdens het afluisteren hoort ze niets bijzonders.
het
it
horen
to hear
niets
nothing
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
bijzonder
special
tijdens
during
afluisteren
to eavesdrop
Questions & Answers about Tijdens het afluisteren hoort ze niets bijzonders.
Is the het in het afluisteren the same kind of idiomatic het we've been learning about in this lesson?
No, this is a standard grammatical het. In idiomatic expressions like het koud hebben (to be cold) or het redden (to manage/make it), het is a fixed, untranslatable "dummy" object. Here, het is simply the definite article "the" being used to turn the infinitive verb afluisteren into a noun (a gerund).
Why do we say tijdens het afluisteren instead of just tijdens afluisteren?
In Dutch, you can turn any infinitive verb into a noun by putting het in front of it. While English often uses a standalone "-ing" verb after a preposition ("while eavesdropping"), Dutch grammar prefers the full noun phrase with its article after a preposition like tijdens (literally: "during the eavesdropping").
Why is there an -s at the end of bijzonders?
When you use an adjective directly after an indefinite pronoun like niets (nothing), iets (something), veel (much), or wat (some), the adjective gets an extra -s at the end. Here, bijzonder (special) becomes bijzonders to mean "nothing special".
Why does the sentence use hoort ze instead of ze hoort?
This is a great refresher for the verb-second (V2) rule. Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Tijdens het afluisteren, that entire phrase takes up position one. The conjugated verb hoort must take position two, which pushes the subject ze immediately after it.
Learn Tijdens het afluisteren hoort ze niets bijzonders 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