We gaan naar de bioscoop wanneer het buiten hard regent.

We go to the cinema when it is raining hard outside.

Breakdown of We gaan naar de bioscoop wanneer het buiten hard regent.

• wij: we
• gaan: to go
• naar: to
• het: it
• wanneer: when
• buiten: outside
• regenen: to rain
• hard: hard
• de bioscoop: the cinema

Questions & Answers about We gaan naar de bioscoop wanneer het buiten hard regent.

What is the function of wanneer in this sentence and how does it differ from als?

wanneer introduces a temporal subordinate clause (‘when/whenever it’s raining’). It connects the main action to a point in time. You can often replace wanneer with als (Als het buiten hard regent, gaan we naar de bioscoop) but there’s a nuance:

• wanneer is neutral for time, often found in questions and formal contexts.
• als frequently marks a condition or habitual event. In daily speech, both are acceptable for “when/if.”

Why does the verb regent appear at the end of the clause wanneer het buiten hard regent?

In Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by words like wanneer, the finite verb moves to the very end. This is called the verb-final rule. In main clauses Dutch is a V2 language (verb-second), but in subordinate (subordinate) clauses the conjugated verb must go last.

What role does het play in wanneer het buiten hard regent?

Here het is a dummy or expletive subject, equivalent to the it in English weather sentences (“it’s raining”). Dutch requires a subject for regenen, so het fills that slot without adding concrete meaning.

Why is the adverb hard not inflected as harde?

Adjectives get an -e ending when they modify nouns (de harde wind), but when they modify verbs they act as adverbs and remain in their base form. In hard regent, hard describes how it’s raining (an adverb), so no -e is added.

Why is de used in de bioscoop, and can we omit the article?

Bioscoop is a common‐gender noun, so it takes de. With gaan naar you almost always include the article:

• Correct: We gaan naar de ijsbaan, de markt, de bioscoop.
• Omitted article (We gaan naar bioscoop) sounds ungrammatical in Dutch.

Can we change the word order by placing the time clause at the beginning, like Als het buiten hard regent, gaan we naar de bioscoop?

Yes. When a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause follows with verb-second word order. You can use either conjunction:

• Als het buiten hard regent, gaan we naar de bioscoop.
• Wanneer het buiten hard regent, gaan we naar de bioscoop.

What does gaan indicate in We gaan naar de bioscoop? Is it a future tense?

Here gaan simply expresses physical movement: “we are going to the cinema.” It can imply a near-future plan but isn’t a pure future auxiliary like English “will.” Dutch often uses gaan in the present tense to talk about planned or imminent actions.