Wij beginnen met de vergadering.

We begin the meeting.

Breakdown of Wij beginnen met de vergadering.

• wij: we
• met: with
• de vergadering: the meeting
• beginnen: to begin

Questions & Answers about Wij beginnen met de vergadering.

What does Wij mean in the sentence?

Wij means "we". It's the subject pronoun used to refer to a group that includes the speaker.

How is the verb beginnen conjugated here, and what tense is it in?

In this sentence, beginnen is in the present tense and is conjugated for the plural subject wij. In Dutch, when using wij (we), the verb typically remains in its base form, so beginnen translates to "begin" in English.

Why is the preposition met used, and can it be omitted?

Dutch often uses the fixed expression beginnen met to indicate what is being started. The phrase "met de vergadering" translates literally as "with the meeting". Omitting met would be unidiomatic, as many Dutch verbs require a specific preposition to link to the object.

What is the role of the definite article de in de vergadering?

In Dutch, nouns have a gender and take either de or het as the definite article. Vergadering is a common gender noun that takes de, meaning "the". This clarifies that we are talking about a specific meeting.

Is it necessary to explicitly include wij (we) in such sentences, or can it be omitted?

Although Dutch allows for subject pronouns to be dropped when the context makes the subject clear, including wij can emphasize who is performing the action and add clarity, especially in formal or written contexts.