Wij verwachten morgen mooi weer.

We expect nice weather tomorrow.

Breakdown of Wij verwachten morgen mooi weer.

• wij: we
• morgen: tomorrow
• het weer: the weather
• mooi: nice
• verwachten: to expect

Questions & Answers about Wij verwachten morgen mooi weer.

What does verwachten mean, and how is it different from hopen?

• verwachten literally means “to expect” (you think something is likely to happen).
• hopen means “to hope” (you wish something would happen).
  Differences:
  
  • verwachten takes a direct object: we verwachten mooi weer.
  • hopen normally uses the preposition op: we hopen op mooi weer.
  • verwachten implies a higher degree of certainty; hopen expresses desire.

Why is the present tense verwachten used here to talk about a future event?

In Dutch the simple present can express a future action when there’s a time adverbial (like morgen).

• Wij verwachten morgen mooi weer. = “We expect nice weather tomorrow.”
  You can also form a future with zullen
  • infinitive:
• Wij zullen morgen mooi weer verwachten.
  but the present tense is more natural for near-future events.

Why is morgen placed after the verb and before mooi weer? Can I put mooi weer before morgen?

Dutch word order in a main clause is basically S–V–(Adverbials)–O. Here:

1. Wij (Subject)
2. verwachten (Verb)
3. morgen (Time adverbial)
4. mooi weer (Object)
   You could say Wij verwachten mooi weer morgen, but it sounds like morgen is an afterthought. The usual, neutral order is time before the object.

Can I move morgen to the beginning of the sentence? What happens to the word order?

Yes. When you front an element, you must keep the verb in second position (V2 rule). So:

• Morgen verwachten wij mooi weer.
  Here morgen is first, verwachten stays second, and wij moves after the verb.

Why is there no article (like het or een) before mooi weer?

Because weer (weather) is an uncountable noun here, used in a general sense, and in Dutch you often omit the article with general or mass nouns.
You could add het if you refer to a specific nice weather you already mentioned:

• We verwachten het mooie weer van gisteren terug.

Could I say we instead of wij? Is there any difference in meaning or formality?

• wij is the full, stressed form (“we” in writing or for emphasis).
• we is the unstressed, everyday spoken form.
  Meaning is the same; choice depends on register and emphasis.

What’s the difference between mooi weer and goed weer?

• mooi weer = “beautiful/nice weather,” emphasizing pleasant, sunny conditions.
• goed weer = “good weather,” often meaning it’s suitable for a specific activity (e.g. “good weather for sailing”).
  In casual speech they’re often interchangeable, but mooi weer is more common when you’re just talking about pleasant sunshine.

How do I pronounce the ij in wij?

• ij is treated as one letter in Dutch.
• It’s pronounced roughly like the English diphthong in “eye” or the “i” in “kite.”
• IPA: [ʋɛi] or [vɛi], so wij sounds approximately like “vay” with an initial v-sound.