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Breakdown of Hij drinkt veel water tijdens de picknick.
hij
he
drinken
to drink
het water
the water
veel
a lot
de picknick
the picnic
tijdens
during
Questions & Answers about Hij drinkt veel water tijdens de picknick.
Why is it drinkt and not just drink?
In Dutch, when the subject is third-person singular (like hij), you add a t at the end of the verb in the present tense. So hij drinkt is the correct form, derived from the infinitive drinken.
What does tijdens mean, and can I replace it with something else?
Tijdens means during in English. It indicates that the action takes place at the same time as another event. You could use gedurende in more formal contexts, but tijdens is more common in everyday speech.
Why do we say veel water instead of something like vele wateren?
Water is typically treated as an uncountable noun in Dutch, so you use the singular form with an adjective like veel. You wouldn’t pluralize it in this context.
Is picknick always used with de, and why is it spelled that way?
Yes, picknick is a common noun in Dutch that takes the article de. It’s borrowed from English (with an extra k at the end), and the spelling follows standard Dutch conventions for borrowed words.
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