Breakdown of Halverwege de film gaat het licht uit.
de film
the film
uitgaan
to go out
het licht
the light
halverwege
halfway through
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Questions & Answers about Halverwege de film gaat het licht uit.
What does halverwege mean, and how is it used in this sentence?
Halverwege means “halfway through” or “in the middle of.” It’s an adverbial preposition that takes a noun phrase with a definite article. In halverwege de film, it literally means “halfway through the movie.” You’ll see it with other nouns too: halverwege het jaar, halverwege de rit, etc.
Why does the sentence say gaat het licht uit instead of het licht gaat uit?
Dutch follows the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. Because halverwege de film is fronted, the verb gaat comes next, then the subject het licht, and finally the separable prefix uit. If you omit the fronted phrase, you’d say Het licht gaat uit.
What’s going on with gaat and uit? Why are they separated?
They form the separable verb uitgaan (“to go out”). In a main clause, the prefix uit shifts to the end of the sentence, while gaat stays in second position.
Why is licht preceded by het? Can you drop the article?
Licht (“light”) is a neuter noun in Dutch, so it takes the definite article het. Dropping it would sound ungrammatical here; Licht gaat uit isn’t idiomatic.
Is a comma needed after Halverwege de film?
No comma is required. Dutch often omits commas after short adverbial phrases. You could add one for clarity in very long sentences, but here it’s perfectly fine without it.
Are there other ways to say “the light goes out” in Dutch?
Yes. Common alternatives are:
- Het licht dooft (more formal/poetic “the light dims or dies”).
- Het licht schakelt uit (emphasizes using a switch).
Is halverwege always one word?
Yes. Halverwege is a fixed compound and is never split into two words in standard Dutch.