Learn Hardcore Dutch: Wij gaan morgen naar het concert in de schuur. - We are going to the concert in the shed tomorrow.

In Dutch, both wij and we mean we in English. we is the unstressed, neutral form used in most everyday speech. wij is the stressed form used for emphasis or contrast (e.g., Wij gaan wel, maar jij blijft thuis). In writing, both are correct, but you’ll hear we more often in casual conversation.

Why is morgen placed after the verb, and can I start the sentence with morgen?

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb (here gaan) must be the second element. In Wij gaan morgen…, gaan comes right after wij, and morgen follows. You can start with Morgen for emphasis—Morgen gaan wij naar het concert in de schuur—but then you invert subject and verb to keep the verb in second position.

Why do we use naar before het concert and in before de schuur? It looks like two locations.

naar expresses motion toward something: we gaan naar het concert means we are going to the concert. in indicates where the concert takes place: it happens in de schuur. You need both because one shows your destination (the concert) and the other tells you the specific venue of that destination (the barn).

Why is it het concert but de schuur? How do I know which article to use in Dutch?

Dutch has two grammatical genders: common (use de) and neuter (use het). Most nouns ending in -ment (like concert) are neuter, so you say het concert. schuur is common gender, so de schuur. Unfortunately, many noun genders must be memorized or checked in a dictionary.

How do I pronounce schuur? That sch and double uu look tricky.

Pronounce sch as [sx] (an s sound immediately followed by the guttural ch, as in acht). The uu is a long, close-front rounded vowel [yː], similar to the French u in tu. So schuur sounds roughly like [sxyr], with a long u sound.

When is gaan just to go, and when does it form the future tense like we are going to…?

Here, gaan is the main verb meaning to go—you’re physically heading to the concert. Dutch also uses gaan + infinitive (e.g., Ik ga morgen werken) to express the future. If gaan is immediately followed by another verb in the infinitive, it functions as a future auxiliary; if not, it usually retains its basic motion meaning.

Since morgen can also mean morning, how do I know it means tomorrow here?

Context is key. In Wij gaan morgen…, morgen follows a verb and naturally means tomorrow. For this morning, Dutch speakers typically use vanmorgen instead of plain morgen.

Can I use zullen instead of gaan to talk about future plans?

Yes. zullen is the standard future auxiliary: We zullen morgen naar het concert in de schuur gaan would mean we will go to the concert in the barn tomorrow. However, most speakers prefer gaan + infinitive for personal plans and reserve zullen for more formal contexts or polite offers.