Breakdown of Toen de juf gisteren op het schoolplein liep, regende het hevig.
lopen
to walk
op
on
het
it
gisteren
yesterday
Questions & Answers about Toen de juf gisteren op het schoolplein liep, regende het hevig.
Why do we use toen here instead of als to mean "when"?
The word toen is used for a single, specific event that happened in the past, which is confirmed here by the word gisteren (yesterday). If you wanted to describe a repeated action or a past habit (like "Whenever the teacher walked on the schoolyard..."), you would use als.
Why is the word order regende het instead of het regende after the comma?
This is because of the Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire subordinate clause (Toen de juf gisteren op het schoolplein liep) occupies the first position in the sentence. The main verb regende must take the second position, so it jumps in front of its subject het.
Could I use lerares or docent instead of juf in this sentence?
You could, but juf (short for juffrouw) is the standard, everyday word for a female primary school teacher. Since the sentence mentions a schoolplein (schoolyard) where younger children play, juf fits the context perfectly. Lerares or docent would sound a bit too formal or suggest a high school/university setting.
Why do we use the preposition op with schoolplein instead of in?