Breakdown of Ik bel Anna direct na het werk.
ik
I
Anna
Anna
het werk
the work
na
after
bellen
to call
direct
immediately
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Questions & Answers about Ik bel Anna direct na het werk.
Why is bel used instead of bellen?
bel is the first-person singular present form of the infinitive bellen. In Dutch you conjugate verbs according to the subject: ik bel, jij belt, hij/zij belt, etc.
Why is the present tense (ik bel) used to talk about calling Anna after work? Shouldn't it be future tense?
Dutch often uses the present tense for near-future actions when the time is clear. So Ik bel Anna direct na het werk literally uses present tense but expresses “I’ll call Anna right after work.”
What does direct mean here?
In this sentence direct means immediately or right away, indicating the call happens straight after finishing work.
Can I replace direct with meteen, and is there any nuance?
Yes. Ik bel Anna meteen na het werk is perfectly fine. Both direct and meteen mean immediately, though meteen is more common in everyday spoken Dutch while direct is used in both spoken and written contexts without a strong difference.
Why is it na het werk instead of na werk? Do I always need het?
With time expressions that include a common noun, Dutch usually requires the definite article. Hence na het werk, in de ochtend, na de lunch, etc. You can omit the article with days of the week or holidays: na maandag, op Kerstmis.
Why is direct na het werk placed after Ik bel Anna? Can I move it to the front?
Dutch tends to follow a Time-Manner-Place (TMP) order. Here direct na het werk (time) comes after verb and object by default. You can front it for emphasis, but then you must invert subject and verb (V2 rule):
Direct na het werk bel ik Anna.
How would I make this sentence negative? Where does niet go?
To negate the action, place niet before the time expression:
Ik bel Anna niet na het werk.
If you want to negate just the immediacy, put niet before direct:
Ik bel Anna niet direct na het werk.
The position of niet determines what part of the sentence you’re negating.
Is bellen the only verb for making a phone call? Are there alternatives?
The most common verb is bellen, used transitively: Ik bel Anna. A more formal alternative is telefoneren, which takes a preposition: Ik telefoneer naar Anna. You can also use the separable verb opbellen: Ik bel Anna op.