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Questions & Answers about In de winter is het koud.
Why do we say in de winter instead of just winter?
In Dutch, seasons used as time adverbials require a preposition plus the definite article. You form it as in + de + winter. English often drops the article (“in winter”), but Dutch does not. There is no standard in winter by itself.
What is ’s winters and how does it relate to in de winter?
’s winters is an informal contraction of des winters, literally “of the winter,” meaning “during the winter.” It’s very common in spoken Dutch. Functionally, it’s equivalent to in de winter, though in de winter is more neutral and preferred in writing or formal speech.
Why is is placed before het in this sentence?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb-second). When you start with an element other than the subject—here in de winter—the finite verb (is) must occupy the second position. The subject (het) then comes third:
- in de winter
- is
- het
What is the role of het in in de winter is het koud? Can it be omitted?
Het is a dummy or placeholder subject used in impersonal weather/temperature statements. Dutch (like English) requires a subject even when there’s no “real” referent. You cannot say in de winter is koud; you need het.
Why do we use koud and not koude here?
Koud is an adjective used predicatively—it comes after the verb zijn (to be) and describes the subject. Predicative adjectives stay in their base form. The -e ending (as in koude) appears when an adjective is attributive, i.e. directly before a noun (like koude dag).
Can we rephrase the sentence as het is koud in de winter? Does it change the meaning or emphasis?
Yes. Het is koud in de winter follows the standard Subject-Verb-Adverbial (SVO) order. The core meaning (“it’s cold during the winter”) stays the same. Fronting in de winter (and applying V2) shifts the emphasis onto when it’s cold; starting with het emphasizes that it’s cold.