Mijn familie wil dit weekend naar de markt om een mes en een vork voor de picknick te kopen.

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Questions & Answers about Mijn familie wil dit weekend naar de markt om een mes en een vork voor de picknick te kopen.

Why do we say wil instead of willen with mijn familie?
In Dutch, mijn familie (my family) is treated as a singular collective noun. So we use the third-person singular form wil (he/she/it wants). Even though we might think of a family as multiple individuals, we usually treat it grammatically as a single unit.
What’s the difference between mijn familie and mijn gezin in Dutch?
Mijn familie can include extended relatives like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Mijn gezin refers more specifically to your immediate household, such as parents and siblings who live with you (or did when you were growing up).
Why do we have om ... te kopen in this sentence?
In Dutch, when you express the purpose or goal of going somewhere (or doing something), you use om + te + infinitive. In this case, om ... te kopen (in order to buy) explains the reason for going to the market.
Why is it naar de markt and not something else like aan de markt?
The preposition naar is commonly used with verbs of motion (like going) to indicate direction or destination. So when you go to the market, you say naar de markt. The preposition aan isn’t typically used for this purpose.
Is there a reason we say een mes en een vork rather than just listing them without repeating een?
It’s not incorrect to say een mes en vork, but repeating een can sound more natural and clear in Dutch. It emphasizes you’re buying two distinct items (a knife and a fork). It’s a stylistic choice rather than a strict rule.

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