Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond.

Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond.
In the end, we finalized our plans.

Breakdown of Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond.

hebben
to have
wij
we
onze
our
het plan
the plan
uiteindelijk
in the end
afronden
to finalize
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Questions & Answers about Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond.

Why is Uiteindelijk placed at the very beginning of the sentence instead of after the subject?

Dutch follows the V2 (verb-second) rule in main clauses. If you start with an adverbial element like Uiteindelijk, the finite verb (here hebben) must come next in second position, then the subject:

• Position 1: Uiteindelijk
• Position 2: hebben (finite verb)
• Position 3: wij (subject)

If you began with the subject, you could also say Wij hebben uiteindelijk onze plannen afgerond, but the emphasis shifts.

Why is hebben used here as the auxiliary verb and not zijn?

In Dutch perfect tenses, transitive verbs and most separable-prefix verbs take hebben as their auxiliary. Afronden is transitive (you round something off), so it uses hebben. Only a small class of intransitive verbs—mainly motion verbs (e.g. gaan, komen) and a few change‑of‑state verbs—take zijn.

How does the separable‑prefix verb afronden form its past participle, and why don’t we see a simple ge‑ at the front?

Afronden is a separable‑prefix verb (prefix = af, stem = rond). The past participle in such cases is built as:

  1. Prefix stays attached to the front.
  2. Insert ge‑ between prefix and stem.
  3. Add the participle ending ‑d (because the stem ends in a voiced consonant).

So you get af + ge + rond = afgerond.

Why does afgerond appear at the end of the sentence?

In a Dutch main clause with a perfect tense, the finite verb is in second position and all other verbal elements (objects, adverbs, past participles, separable‑verb parts) follow after the subject. The past participle (including its prefix) ends up at the very end:

Uiteindelijk | hebben | wij | onze plannen | afgerond
(1)Adverb (2)Verb (3)Subj (4)object (5)Participle

Why is it onze plannen and not ons plannen?

Possessive pronouns in Dutch agree by gender and number:

– ons is used before singular het‑ nouns (e.g. ons huis)
– onze is used before all plural nouns and before de‑ nouns

Since plannen is plural, you must use onze: onze plannen.

Can I replace wij with we, or even drop the subject entirely?

Yes. Wij is the full subject pronoun, often used for emphasis or more formal style. In everyday speech you commonly use we:

• Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond. (slightly formal/emphatic)
• Uiteindelijk hebben we onze plannen afgerond. (neutral/informal)

Dropping the pronoun altogether (e.g. Uiteindelijk hebben onze plannen afgerond) isn’t grammatical unless context supplies another subject.

Could the adverb uiteindelijk appear in a different position, and does that change the meaning?

Yes. You can move uiteindelijk for nuance:

  1. Wij hebben onze plannen uiteindelijk afgerond.
    – Focus on when you finished (eventually).
  2. Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond.
    – Emphasis on the conclusion/result (“in the end, we did finish”).

Both are correct but highlight slightly different aspects of the story.

What is the nuance of Uiteindelijk compared to Eindelijk or Ten slotte?

• Uiteindelijk
– “In the end/ultimately” after a process or series of events.
• Eindelijk
– “Finally/at last” often conveys relief or impatience (“You’ve finally arrived!”).
• Ten slotte
– “Finally/in conclusion” more formal or used in summaries and presentations.

In Uiteindelijk hebben wij onze plannen afgerond, you stress the outcome of a (possibly lengthy) process.