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Questions & Answers about Hoe laat is de vergadering?
Why do we use Hoe laat instead of a word for "time"?
In Dutch, the standard way to ask "What time" is by saying Hoe laat (literally: "How late"). Translating "What time" word-for-word into Dutch sounds unnatural when asking for a specific hour on the clock.
Could Hoe laat is de vergadering? also mean "How late is the meeting running?"
Yes! Depending on the situation, Hoe laat can mean "What time" (asking for the scheduled time) or literally "How late" (asking how delayed something is). However, in everyday conversation, it usually just means "What time".
Why does the verb is come before de vergadering?
Because this is a question. Just like in English, we swap the subject (de vergadering) and the verb (is). In Dutch, the verb almost always comes immediately after the question word or phrase (in this case, the phrase Hoe laat).
Is there a trick to knowing that it is de vergadering and not het vergadering?
Yes! The word vergadering ends in -ing. In Dutch, all nouns ending in -ing are de words. This is a very handy rule to remember as you learn more vocabulary.