Anna draagt een oranje jas wanneer het buiten regent.

Anna wears an orange coat when it rains outside.

Breakdown of Anna draagt een oranje jas wanneer het buiten regent.

• Anna: Anna
• het: it
• wanneer: when
• de jas: the coat
• buiten: outside
• regenen: to rain
• oranje: orange
• dragen: to wear

Questions & Answers about Anna draagt een oranje jas wanneer het buiten regent.

What does the verb draagt mean in this sentence, and why is it conjugated the way it is?

The verb draagt is the third person singular present tense form of dragen, which means "to wear" (or sometimes "to carry") in English. Here, it is correctly conjugated to agree with the subject Anna.

Why does the color adjective oranje stay in its base form in the phrase een oranje jas?

In Dutch, when an adjective comes before a singular noun with the indefinite article een, it usually remains uninflected. This means oranje keeps its base form without an added ending because the grammatical rules for adjective agreement in such contexts do not require modification.

How is the subordinating conjunction wanneer used in this sentence, and what does it imply?

Wanneer translates to "when" in English and is used to introduce a subordinate clause. In this sentence, it sets the condition under which Anna wears her jacket—that is, she wears the jacket when it rains outside.

What is the word order of the subordinate clause wanneer het buiten regent, and why does the verb appear at the end?

Dutch subordinate clauses typically place the finite verb at the end. In the clause wanneer het buiten regent, the order is: the conjunction wanneer, followed by the subject het (referring to the weather), then the adverb buiten (meaning "outside"), with the verb regent coming at the end. This construction is standard in Dutch subordinate clauses.

What role does the word buiten play in this sentence?

Buiten functions as an adverb meaning "outside." It modifies the verb regent by specifying the location of the rain.

Should a comma be placed before wanneer in this sentence?

The use of a comma before a subordinate clause like the one starting with wanneer can vary in Dutch. Traditionally, a comma might be inserted—resulting in "Anna draagt een oranje jas, wanneer het buiten regent." However, modern usage often omits the comma when the subordinate clause immediately follows the main clause. The choice depends largely on the style guide you are following.

How is subject-verb agreement handled in both the main clause and the subordinate clause of this sentence?

In the main clause, Anna is the subject, so the verb draagt is in the third person singular form. In the subordinate clause, het (a neutral pronoun typically used for weather) serves as the subject, meaning regent is also correctly conjugated in the third person singular. This demonstrates proper subject-verb agreement in both parts of the sentence.