Wij moeten snel naar de markt om groenten te halen.

We must quickly go to the market to get vegetables.

Breakdown of Wij moeten snel naar de markt om groenten te halen.

• wij: we
• naar: to
• om: for
• de markt: the market
• moeten: must
• snel: quickly
• halen: to get

Questions & Answers about Wij moeten snel naar de markt om groenten te halen.

Why do we use moeten here instead of a verb like willen?

Moeten means "to have to" or "must," indicating necessity or obligation. In this sentence, it tells us that there is a requirement to go to the market, rather than a simple desire (willen = "to want") to go there.

Why is snel placed after moeten?

In Dutch, shorter adverbs like snel (quickly) often come immediately after the conjugated verb to emphasize how the action is done. The structure is typically subject + verb + adverb. So we get Wij moeten snel... instead of putting snel elsewhere in the sentence.

Why do we say naar de markt rather than something like in de markt?

The preposition naar in Dutch means "to" when talking about going to a specific place. Saying naar de markt indicates movement or travel to that location. Saying in de markt would imply being inside or at the market, not the action of going there.

Why is it groenten (plural) instead of groente (singular)?

The word groenten is often used for "vegetables" in general (plural). If you want to focus on one vegetable, you might use the singular groente. But here, we're referring to vegetables in general, hence the plural form.

What is the meaning of halen in this context, and could we use kopen?

Halen literally means "to get" or "to fetch." It's common in Dutch to say groenten halen when you mean you’re going to pick them up (often implying buying them too). You could say groenten kopen ("to buy vegetables"), but halen is slightly more informal and naturally used in everyday speech to mean the same thing in this context.

Why use Wij instead of We in this sentence?

Both Wij and We mean "we" in Dutch. Wij is the stressed form, often used for emphasis. If you simply want to say "we," you can use We. However, using Wij puts a small emphasis on the subject, implying that specifically we (rather than someone else) must go to the market.