Breakdown of We waren aan het rennen, maar de intercity reed al weg.
zijn
to be
maar
but
het
it
rennen
to run
al
already
aan
on / at (attached to, edge)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
de intercity
the intercity train
wegrijden
to drive away
Questions & Answers about We waren aan het rennen, maar de intercity reed al weg.
Why do we use waren aan het rennen here instead of the simple past renden?
While we renden (we ran) is grammatically correct, the aan het + infinitive structure emphasizes the ongoing, continuous nature of the action at that specific moment in the past. Just like the English "were running", it sets the background scene right before the disappointing event occurs.
Why doesn't the word maar push the verb reed to the end of the sentence?
Maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction, which means it links two independent main clauses without altering their word order. The second clause maintains the standard Subject-Verb order: de intercity (subject) + reed (verb). Only subordinating conjunctions (like omdat or hoewel) kick the verb to the end.
Where does the word weg come from, and why is it at the end of the sentence?
It comes from the separable verb wegrijden (to drive away). In a main clause, the conjugated part of the verb (reed) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (weg) gets pushed to the very end of the clause.
This lesson focuses on expressing regrets. How would I use the verb-first exclamation structure to say "If only we had run faster!" about this situation?
You would drop the normal subject-verb order and start with the verb, making sure to add a modal particle like maar: Hadden we maar sneller gerend! This verb-first (V1) inversion turns what would otherwise be a yes/no question into a strong, unfulfilled wish.
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