Learn Dutch: Wij hebben haast, want we zijn laat. - We are in a hurry, because we are late.

In Dutch, being in a hurry is expressed with the verb hebben (to have) and the noun haast (haste or hurry). You literally say 'we have haste'. English uses the verb 'to be', but Dutch uses 'to have'.

Why is the word order normal after want? Doesn't the word for 'because' push the verb to the end?

There are two common words for 'because' in Dutch: want and omdat. The word want connects two sentences but keeps the normal word order (subject then verb). If you used omdat, the verb would indeed move to the end: omdat we laat zijn.

Why does the sentence start with Wij but later use we?

Both words mean 'we', but wij is the stressed form and we is the unstressed form. Starting with Wij puts a little emphasis on who is in a hurry. Switching to the unstressed we in the second half sounds natural because the main focus there is simply on being late.

Can laat also be used to talk about times of day?

Yes, laat is used exactly like 'late' in English. You can use it for running behind schedule (we zijn laat) or for a late time of day, such as 's avonds laat (late in the evening).