Breakdown of Toen we de Pyreneeën bezochten, sneeuwde het er.
bezoeken
to visit
het
it
er
there (in that place)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
sneeuwen
to snow
toen
when / then (in the past)
de Pyreneeën
the Pyrenees
Questions & Answers about Toen we de Pyreneeën bezochten, sneeuwde het er.
Why do we say de Pyreneeën with an article instead of just Pyreneeën?
Just like in English, mountain ranges in Dutch are treated as plural nouns and always take the plural definite article de. Other examples include de Alpen (the Alps) and de Ardennen (the Ardennes).
If de Pyreneeën were the subject of a sentence, would it take a singular or plural verb?
It would take a plural verb. Because mountain ranges are grammatically plural in Dutch, they require plural verb agreement. For example, you would say De Pyreneeën zijn prachtig (The Pyrenees are beautiful). In our sentence, however, the subject of that clause is we, which is why the verb is bezochten.
Could I use wanneer instead of toen for 'when' in this sentence?
No, you must use toen. In Dutch, toen is strictly used for a single, specific event or period in the past. Wanneer is used for questions, present or future events, or repeated past events (meaning 'whenever'). Since this was a specific past trip, toen is the only correct choice.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb sneeuwde?
This happens because of the Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first clause (Toen we de Pyreneeën bezochten) counts as the first element of the main sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, sneeuwde must come immediately after the comma, pushing its subject (het) to the other side of the verb.
What is the purpose of er at the very end of the sentence?
In this context, er acts as a locative adverb meaning 'there'. It refers back to the location just mentioned (the Pyrenees) so that you don't have to repeat the name of the mountain range. It simply means 'it was snowing there'.
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