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Questions & Answers about Wij fietsen veilig naar school.
What does Wij mean in the sentence Wij fietsen veilig naar school.?
Wij is the Dutch first-person plural pronoun, equivalent to we in English. It shows that the speaker is including themselves in the group performing the action.
How is the verb fietsen conjugated here, and why is it in this form?
Fietsen means to bike or to cycle. In this sentence, it is conjugated for the plural subject Wij. In Dutch, when the subject is plural (or ik in the singular takes a different form), the verb takes the full -en ending, so fietsen is the correct form for we bike.
What role does veilig play in this sentence?
Veilig functions as an adverb modifying fietsen. It describes the manner in which the biking is done, meaning safely. Although veilig looks identical to the adjective form, context indicates it is functioning adverbially.
What does the phrase naar school mean, and why is there no article before school?
Naar school is a prepositional phrase meaning to school. In Dutch, when referring to institutions like school in a general sense, the article is often omitted—just as in English we say go to school rather than go to the school.
How does the word order in Wij fietsen veilig naar school. compare to that in English?
The sentence follows a typical Dutch main clause order: Subject (Wij) – Verb (fietsen) – Adverb (veilig) – Prepositional Phrase (naar school). This order is very similar to English, where we say We bike safely to school—both languages place the adverb before the place indicator.
Can the word order in this sentence be rearranged, or is it fixed in Dutch?
In simple declarative sentences like this one, the word order is relatively fixed to clearly convey the meaning. Changing the order may lead to ambiguity or sound unnatural. While Dutch does allow for alterations in more complex sentences (especially in subordinate clauses), in this example the structure is standard and should remain as shown.