Wij plannen om in het weekend naar de winkel te gaan.

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Breakdown of Wij plannen om in het weekend naar de winkel te gaan.

• gaan: to go
• naar: to
• in: in
• het weekend: the weekend
• om: for
• de winkel: the store
• plannen: to plan

Questions & Answers about Wij plannen om in het weekend naar de winkel te gaan.

Why do we use om after plannen in this sentence?

In Dutch, certain verbs (like plannen, proberen, beloven) often take om … te before another verb. This structure is a way to link the first verb (plannen) to the action that follows (te gaan). So, Wij plannen om in het weekend naar de winkel te gaan is the standard pattern in Dutch.

Why is -en at the end of plannen?

Plannen is the infinitive form of the verb, much like to plan in English. Dutch infinitives usually end in -en (e.g., lopen, eten, werken). When you conjugate it for "we" or "wij," you still use the same form as the infinitive in the present tense, so it remains plannen.

What is the difference between using wij and we?

Both wij and we translate to we in English. Wij places a bit more emphasis on the subject than we. If you just say We plannen om in het weekend naar de winkel te gaan, it’s fine, but if you want to emphasize that it’s specifically we (and not someone else) who are planning, you can use wij.

Is it correct to say in het weekend in this context?

Yes. In het weekend literally means in the weekend and is the common way to say on the weekend in Dutch. Using op here is incorrect because the standard preposition for referring to the weekend in Dutch is in.

Why do we say naar de winkel and not naar winkel?

Dutch nouns almost always need an article (de or het) unless there’s a special context (like with mass nouns, proper nouns, or some set phrases). Winkel is a common noun, so we need de winkel when indicating the store in general.