Word
Wij luisteren naar muziek terwijl de jongen met zijn bal speelt in het park.
Meaning
We listen to music while the boy plays with his ball in the park.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Wij luisteren naar muziek terwijl de jongen met zijn bal speelt in het park.
wij
we
naar
to
in
in
met
with
het park
the park
zijn
his
de jongen
the boy
spelen
to play
de muziek
the music
luisteren
to listen
terwijl
while
de bal
the ball
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Questions & Answers about Wij luisteren naar muziek terwijl de jongen met zijn bal speelt in het park.
Why do we use “naar” with “luisteren” in Dutch?
In Dutch, luisteren is typically followed by naar to indicate what you are listening to. In essence, you listen towards something. This is different from English, where you just say listen to music.
Why do we say “met zijn bal speelt” instead of just “zijn bal speelt”?
In Dutch, the verb spelen (to play) often needs the preposition met when referring to the thing you play with. Literally, the sentence means he plays with his ball instead of he plays his ball. Using met clarifies that the ball is the object he is using to play.
Why is “terwijl” used here, and how does it affect the sentence?
Terwijl means while, and it introduces a subordinate clause describing an action that happens at the same time as the main action. So Wij luisteren naar muziek is the main clause: We are listening to music, while de jongen met zijn bal speelt in het park is the subordinate clause describing what happens simultaneously.
Can we change the word order, for example putting “in het park” differently?
Yes, word order in Dutch is somewhat flexible, especially for elements like in het park, which can move around in the sentence for emphasis. However, you must keep the verb in the second position in the main clause and at the end of the subordinate clause. For example:
• In het park speelt de jongen met zijn bal, terwijl wij naar muziek luisteren.
• Wij luisteren naar muziek terwijl de jongen in het park met zijn bal speelt.
Why do we need “de” before “jongen”?
Dutch nouns usually need an article (either de or het). Jongen is a common gender noun, so it takes the article de. If you omit the article, you’re not talking about a specific boy anymore but rather “boy” in a general sense, which would not match the meaning of this specific sentence.
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