Learn Hardcore Dutch: Volgende week is er een nationale feestdag, dus de winkels zijn dicht. - Next week there is a national holiday, so the shops are closed.

In Dutch er is an expletive pronoun used in existential constructions, just like English “there” in “there is a holiday.” It doesn’t refer to anything concrete; it simply marks that something exists. You could translate er is een feestdag as “there is a holiday.”

Why does the sentence read “Volgende week is er een nationale feestdag” and not “Er is volgende week een nationale feestdag”?

Dutch is a verb-second (V2) language. If you start with an adverbial phrase like Volgende week, the finite verb (is) must come next, then the subject/expletive (er). You could still say Er is volgende week een nationale feestdag, but starting with Volgende week gives time emphasis.

Why does nationale end in -e, and why is it lowercase?

Attributive adjectives in Dutch typically get an -e when they precede a noun that has a determiner (definite de/het, indefinite een) and is common gender or plural. Hence een nationale feestdag. Dutch does not capitalize adjectives or generic nouns, only proper names, so nationale remains lowercase.

Why is feestdag written as one word instead of two?

In Dutch, compound nouns are generally concatenated into a single word. Feestdag = feest (celebration/party) + dag (day), so it becomes feestdag.

What does dus do here, and why is it placed before “de winkels zijn dicht”?

Dus is a coordinating conjunction meaning “so” or “therefore.” In Dutch you can place it at the beginning of the second clause:
“…een nationale feestdag, dus de winkels zijn dicht.”
It links cause and effect. You could also say Dus zijn de winkels dicht, but that slightly shifts emphasis.

Why use dicht for “closed” instead of gesloten? Could both work?

Yes, both work. Dicht is a regular adjective meaning “not open” and is quite colloquial: de winkels zijn dicht. Gesloten is the past participle of sluiten that also functions adjectivally: de winkels zijn gesloten. The meaning is the same; dicht feels a bit more spoken.

How do you pronounce Volgende?

It sounds approximately like VOL-ghun-duh:
• VO as in English “vot” but with a short “o.”
• l as in “let.”
• g as a voiced velar fricative [ɣ], similar to the ch in lachen.
• e in the middle is a schwa [ə]. The final -e is also a schwa.

Can I say komende week or aanstaande week instead of volgende week?

You can freely use komende week as a synonym for volgende week—both mean “next week.” Aanstaande is normally used with specific days: aanstaande maandag (“this coming Monday”), but you won’t hear aanstaande week.