Word
De ontvanger werkt van twee tot drie uur.
Meaning
The recipient works from two until three o'clock.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De ontvanger werkt van twee tot drie uur.
twee
two
drie
three
werken
to work
het uur
the hour / o'clock
Questions & Answers about De ontvanger werkt van twee tot drie uur.
In English we say "from two to three". Why doesn't Dutch use naar instead of tot here?
In Dutch, when expressing a range of time or amounts, you must use van ... tot ... (from ... until/to ...). You only use van ... naar ... for physical movement from one place to another (for example, van Amsterdam naar Rotterdam).
Why is it drie uur instead of the plural drie uren?
In Dutch, uur doesn't take a plural ending when indicating the time of day (o'clock). Furthermore, even if it meant a duration of three hours, units of time, measurement, and weight typically remain in their singular form when preceded by a specific exact number above one (like twee or drie).
Could van twee tot drie uur also mean "from two to three hours" (as a duration) rather than specific times on a clock?
Yes, grammatically it could mean either! Without further context, twee tot drie uur can mean an estimated duration (working for a period of 2 to 3 hours) or specific times (working from 2:00 to 3:00). However, context usually makes the difference clear, and here specific times are the most natural primary interpretation.
What verb is the noun ontvanger derived from, and is it a regular verb?