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Questions & Answers about Wij gaan naar het zwembad.
What does Wij mean in this sentence?
Wij is the Dutch first-person plural pronoun, equivalent to "we" in English. It indicates that the speaker is referring to a group including themselves.
What is the function of gaan in this sentence and what tense is it in?
Gaan means "to go" in English. In this sentence, it is conjugated in the simple present tense. Interestingly, like in English, the present tense in Dutch can also imply a near-future plan.
Why is the preposition naar used here, and what does it indicate?
The word naar translates to "to" in English. It is used to express direction or the destination of the movement. In this sentence, it clearly directs the action toward het zwembad.
What is the gender of zwembad and why does it take het as its article?
Zwembad is a neuter noun in Dutch. Dutch uses two definite articles: de for common gender (masculine/feminine) and het for neuter nouns. Thus, because zwembad is neuter, it correctly takes het.
How does the word order in Wij gaan naar het zwembad compare to English?
The structure of the sentence follows a subject-verb-prepositional phrase order, which is very similar to English. For example, "We are going to the swimming pool" mirrors the order, demonstrating that basic sentence structures can be quite comparable between Dutch and English.
Can this sentence be used to talk about a future plan even though it's in the present tense?
Yes, it can. In Dutch, as in English, the present tense is often used to describe scheduled or imminent future actions. So Wij gaan naar het zwembad might well indicate a plan to go to the pool later, much like saying "We're going to the pool" in English.