Breakdown of Wij hebben dagenlang in de tuin gelezen.
hebben
to have
wij
we
lezen
to read
in
in
de tuin
the garden
dagenlang
for days
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Questions & Answers about Wij hebben dagenlang in de tuin gelezen.
Why do we use hebben gelezen instead of the simple past lazen?
In modern Dutch (especially in speech) the perfect tense is by far the most common way to talk about past events. You form it with an auxiliary (hebben or zijn) plus the past participle (gelezen). The simple past (= preterite) like Wij lazen is still correct, but it sounds more formal or literary.
Why is gelezen at the end of the sentence?
Dutch main clauses follow the “V2” rule: the finite verb (hebben) is in second position, and any non-finite part of the verb (here the past participle gelezen) goes to the very end. All other elements (adverbs, prepositional phrases, objects) appear between the auxiliary and the participle.
What does dagenlang mean and why is it one word?
dagenlang is an adverb meaning for days (i.e. “over a period of several days”). It’s formed by fusing dagen (days) + lang (long) into a single word. You cannot split it into dagen lang in this context without sounding odd.
Can we move dagenlang or in de tuin around in the sentence?
Yes, Dutch allows some flexibility with adverbials as long as the finite verb stays V2. For example:
- In de tuin hebben wij dagenlang gelezen.
- Wij hebben in de tuin dagenlang gelezen.
All convey the same meaning, but the focus shifts slightly depending on word order.
Why in de tuin? Could we say op de tuin or drop the article?
To indicate reading inside or among the plants you use in de tuin with the definite article. Op de tuin would literally mean “on top of the garden” (incorrect), and omitting the article (in tuin) is ungrammatical—Dutch generally needs an article or determiner with singular countable nouns in such locative expressions.
How do you decide between hebben and zijn as the auxiliary?
Most Dutch verbs use hebben in the perfect. Only a limited set of verbs—mainly those indicating movement or change of state (e.g. gaan, komen, worden, veranderen)—use zijn. Lezen is not one of those, so it takes hebben.
Can you express this idea with a present-tense structure, like English’s present continuous?
Dutch doesn’t have a continuous tense. To imply an ongoing action you can use the simple present plus a time adverbial:
Wij lezen al dagen in de tuin.
This literally means “We read already days in the garden” and functions like “We’ve been reading for days in the garden.”