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Questions & Answers about Het sneeuwt vandaag in de tuin.
What is the role of het in this sentence?
In Dutch, het here is not the definite article “the” but a dummy or impersonal subject—just like English “it” in “It’s raining.” Weather verbs (like sneeuwen, regenen, onweren) need this placeholder subject.
Why is the verb sneeuwt spelled with a -t at the end?
Because sneeuwt is the 3rd-person singular present tense of the verb sneeuwen (to snow). Dutch conjugation in the present tense goes:
• ik sneeuw
• jij sneeuwt
• hij/zij/het sneeuwt
• wij/we sneeuwen
Why does sneeuwt come immediately after het?
Dutch is a V2 (verb-second) language. In a main clause the finite verb must occupy the second position. Here the subject het is first, and the verb sneeuwt is second.
Why does vandaag (today) come before in de tuin (in the garden)?
Dutch generally follows the TIME–PLACE rule: adverbials of time precede adverbials of place. So vandaag (when) comes before in de tuin (where).
How can I emphasize the time and put vandaag at the start of the sentence?
You can front the time adverb, but keep V2 order. That gives:
Vandaag sneeuwt het in de tuin.
Here vandaag is first, sneeuwt (the verb) remains second, and het (subject) moves to third.
Why don’t we use an article before vandaag? Could it be het vandaag?
Vandaag functions as an adverb of time, not a noun that needs an article. You simply say vandaag, just like English “today.”
Why is it in de tuin and not in het tuin or op de tuin?
- Tuin is a common-gender noun (de tuin), so you use de.
- For enclosed spaces like gardens, Dutch uses in. “Op de tuin” only appears in some dialects or when talking about allotment gardens, but standard Dutch is in de tuin.
Can I drop het and say Sneeuwt vandaag in de tuin?
No. Weather verbs in Dutch require an impersonal het as subject. Omitting it would be ungrammatical.
What is the infinitive of sneeuwt, and how do I form other tenses?
The infinitive is sneeuwen.
• Present: ik sneeuw, jij sneeuwt, hij sneeuwt, wij sneeuwen
• Simple past: ik sneeuwde, wij sneeuwden
• Past participle: gesneeuwd (used with hebben: “ik heb gesneeuwd” doesn’t make sense for weather, but you’ll see it in perfect constructions of other verbs)