Word
We zitten in het park te picknicken, behalve als het regent.
Meaning
We are picnicking in the park, unless it rains.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about We zitten in het park te picknicken, behalve als het regent.
Why does the verb regent come at the end of the sentence?
The phrase behalve als (except if / unless) works as a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and forces the conjugated verb (regent) to the very end of that clause, right after the subject (het).
Can I use tenzij instead of behalve als to mean "unless"?
Yes, absolutely! tenzij is a very common synonym for behalve als. You can perfectly say ..., tenzij het regent. Just like behalve als, tenzij is a subordinating conjunction that pushes the verb to the end of the clause.
Why use zitten te picknicken instead of zijn aan het picknicken?
Both express that an action is currently ongoing. However, Dutch loves to use "posture verbs" (zitten, staan, liggen, lopen) + te + infinitive to describe how you are positioned while doing the action. Since people usually sit during a picnic, zitten te picknicken sounds much more natural and native than the generic zijn aan het construction.
Why is the location (in het park) placed before te picknicken?