Breakdown of We krijgen niet te horen waar we moeten afrekenen.
niet
not
waar
where
horen
to hear
moeten
to have to, must
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
krijgen
to get (receive)
te
to (infinitive marker)
afrekenen
to pay (settle a bill)
Questions & Answers about We krijgen niet te horen waar we moeten afrekenen.
Why use krijgen te horen instead of a passive translation like "worden verteld"?
While English often uses the passive voice "to be told," Dutch strongly prefers the active construction krijgen te horen (literally "to get to hear"). You will regularly use krijgen te + infinitive for receiving information, such as krijgen te zien (to be shown) or krijgen te weten (to find out/to come to know).
Why is niet placed immediately before te horen?
In Dutch, niet tends to be placed just before the element it specifically negates, which in this case is the verbal complement te horen. As a general rule, niet comes after the conjugated verb (krijgen) but before the remaining verbs at the end of the main clause.
Why do the verbs moeten and afrekenen go to the very end of the sentence?
The phrase waar we moeten afrekenen is an indirect question acting as a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs—both the conjugated verb (moeten) and the infinitive (afrekenen)—must be pushed to the very end.
Could the verb order in the subordinate clause be afrekenen moeten instead?
Yes, both moeten afrekenen and afrekenen moeten are grammatically correct. In a subordinate clause with an auxiliary verb and an infinitive, you can use either order. Putting the auxiliary verb (moeten) before the infinitive (afrekenen) is slightly more common in spoken Dutch, but reversing them is perfectly fine.
What is the difference between using afrekenen here instead of betalen?
Betalen is the general word for "to pay." Afrekenen is more specific and means "to settle the bill" or "to check out." It is the natural verb to use when finishing up a transaction at a restaurant, a store register, or a hotel reception.
Learn We krijgen niet te horen waar we moeten afrekenen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free