Er is volgend weekend een bijzondere gebeurtenis in het park, waar een muziekfestival zal plaatsvinden.

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Breakdown of Er is volgend weekend een bijzondere gebeurtenis in het park, waar een muziekfestival zal plaatsvinden.

• in: in
• het weekend: the weekend
• het park: the park
• zullen: will
• er: there
• een: a, an
• de gebeurtenis: the event
• bijzonder: special
• waar: where
• volgend: next
• het muziekfestival: the music festival
• plaatsvinden: to take place

Questions & Answers about Er is volgend weekend een bijzondere gebeurtenis in het park, waar een muziekfestival zal plaatsvinden.

What does “Er is” mean in this sentence and why is it used at the beginning?

“Er is” translates to “there is” in English. In Dutch, starting a sentence with “Er is” (or “Er zijn” for plural) is common when introducing the existence of something. It serves as an existential construction that signals the presence or occurrence of an event or object.

How should we understand the time expression “volgend weekend”, and why is it placed where it is in the sentence?

“Volgend weekend” means “next weekend”. In Dutch sentence structure, time expressions typically appear near the beginning of a sentence or just after the initial phrase. By placing “volgend weekend” right after “Er is”, the sentence immediately informs the listener when the event will occur, aligning with the common Time-Manner-Place order in Dutch.

What role does the relative clause “waar een muziekfestival zal plaatsvinden” play, and how is it structured?

The clause “waar een muziekfestival zal plaatsvinden” provides additional information about “het park” mentioned earlier. The word “waar” functions as a relative pronoun meaning “where”, linking the clause to the location. Inside the clause, “zal plaatsvinden” forms a future construction—“zal” is the auxiliary (the third-person singular of “zullen”) and “plaatsvinden” is the infinitive, meaning “to take place”. Dutch subordinate clauses typically place the infinitive at the end, which is why the verb appears there.

Why does the adjective “bijzondere” have an -e ending in this sentence?

In Dutch, adjectives placed before a noun usually take the -e ending, especially when the noun is a de-word (common gender) or in plural form. The noun “gebeurtenis” is used with the indefinite article “een” and is a common gender noun, so the adjective must be inflected to “bijzondere”. This rule helps indicate the grammatical properties of the noun that follows.

How is the future tense expressed in the clause “zal plaatsvinden”, and what does it tell us about the event?

The future tense in Dutch is expressed with the auxiliary “zullen” (here shortened to “zal” in the third-person singular) combined with an infinitive verb. In the clause “zal plaatsvinden”, “plaatsvinden” (meaning “to take place”) comes at the end, as is customary in subordinate clauses. This construction tells us that the event mentioned is scheduled to happen in the future, specifically during next weekend.

What function does the prepositional phrase “in het park” serve in the sentence?

The phrase “in het park” specifies the location where the special event is occurring. It connects directly with “een bijzondere gebeurtenis” to provide context about the setting. In Dutch, such phrases often follow the subject or the main clause to answer the question “where?”, and they can also be elaborated on further by a subsequent relative clause, as seen here.