Na het opstijgen drinken we koffie.

Na het opstijgen drinken we koffie.
After take‑off we drink coffee.
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Questions & Answers about Na het opstijgen drinken we koffie.

In Na het opstijgen, why is het used before opstijgen, and what’s the role of opstijgen here?
Opstijgen is an infinitive functioning as a noun (a nominalized infinitive). In Dutch, such nominalized verbs take the neuter article het. So het opstijgen literally means the take‑off or the ascending.
Could I use de opstijging or een opstijging instead?
Yes. De opstijging is the more “standard” noun form and is grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal and less common in everyday speech. If you say een opstijging, you emphasize a particular take‑off rather than the one, which can feel odd unless you’re contrasting multiple take‑offs.
Why does the verb drinken come before the subject we?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule. Since the time phrase Na het opstijgen occupies the first position, the finite verb drinken must be in the second slot, pushing the subject we to the third position.
Does drinken we koffie look like a question because of the word order?
It might resemble a question in English, but in Dutch this is still a statement. In questions you’d say Drinken we koffie? with a question mark. Here, the inversion is triggered by the fronted time phrase, not by asking something.
Why isn’t there an article before koffie? Could we say de koffie?
Here koffie is an uncountable noun referring to coffee in general, so no article is needed. If you’re talking about a specific coffee (e.g. the cup you just got), you can say de koffie.
Could I replace we with wij, and would it change the meaning?
Yes. Na het opstijgen drinken wij koffie is correct. Wij is the stressed pronoun and sounds more emphatic or formal. We is the unstressed, everyday form.
Can I move na het opstijgen to the end, like We drinken koffie na het opstijgen?
Absolutely. Putting the time phrase at the end gives you We drinken koffie na het opstijgen. In that case you don’t invert verb and subject, and the sentence feels more neutral. Fronting the phrase adds a bit of emphasis on when you drink coffee.
How would I say “After we had taken off, we drank coffee” in Dutch?

You’d use a subordinate clause with nadat and the past perfect:
Nadat we waren opgestegen, dronken we koffie.
If you prefer present perfect:
Nadat we waren opgestegen, hebben we koffie gedronken.