Breakdown of Wij leren rekenen op school.
wij
we
leren
to learn
de school
the school
op
at
rekenen
to calculate
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Questions & Answers about Wij leren rekenen op school.
What does leren mean here and how does it function?
Leren is a catenative verb meaning “to learn (to do something).” It takes an infinitive directly (without te) as its object. So in wij leren rekenen, leren means “we learn to calculate” or more broadly “we learn arithmetic.”
Why isn’t there a te before rekenen?
In Dutch, verbs like leren, helpen, doen, zien, horen – when they’re followed by another verb – connect directly to the bare infinitive. You say leren rekenen, not leren te rekenen.
Why do we say op school instead of naar school or in de school?
- Op school = “at school,” meaning “in the context of schooling.”
- Naar school gaan = “to go to school.”
- In de school would literally mean “inside the school building,” which is only used when you really mean the physical space.
Why is there no article before school? Why not op de school?
When you talk about attending school in general, Dutch drops the article: op school (“at school”). If you say op de school, you’re referring to a specific school building or location.
Can you drop wij and just say Leren rekenen op school?
You could omit the subject in very informal contexts, but you’d then end up with a fragment rather than a full main clause. A complete statement usually keeps the subject (“Wij leren…”) or begins with an adverbial, triggering inversion.
Could we say Op school leren wij rekenen instead?
Yes. Placing op school in front emphasizes the location. The finite verb (leren) stays in second position, so Op school leren wij rekenen is perfectly normal.
What’s the difference between wij and we?
We is the unstressed, colloquial pronoun for “we.” Wij is the stressed or emphatic form. Grammatically both work as the subject.
Is rekenen here a noun or a verb form?
It’s the infinitive of the verb rekenen, acting as the object of leren. Although it looks like a noun, it remains a verb form.
How would you express this in the passive voice?
You could say Rekenen wordt op school geleerd (“Arithmetic is learned at school”), but Dutch usually prefers the active form for this idea.