Breakdown of Zondagochtend ga ik naar de markt om groenten en fruit te kopen.
ik
I
gaan
to go
naar
to
en
and
kopen
to buy
om
for
de groente
the vegetable
het fruit
the fruit
de markt
the market
de zondagochtend
the Sunday morning
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Zondagochtend ga ik naar de markt om groenten en fruit te kopen.
Why do we write Zondagochtend as one word instead of two?
In Dutch, when you combine a weekday with a part of the day to form a time expression, you almost always write them as a single compound: zondagochtend, maandagochtend, vrijdagavond, etc.
Why is there no article before Zondagochtend?
Because it’s used adverbially to mean “on Sunday morning.” Adverbial time expressions in Dutch typically omit the article. If you wanted to refer to a specific Sunday morning, you could say de zondagochtend.
Why is the verb ga placed before ik in ga ik?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in the second position. Since Zondagochtend occupies the first slot, ga comes next, and then the subject ik.
Why do we say naar de markt and not just markt?
Naar expresses movement toward a place. Because you’re referring to a specific marketplace here, you use the definite article de: naar de markt. If it were any market, you could say naar een markt.
What is the function of om groenten en fruit te kopen?
This is a purpose clause meaning “in order to buy vegetables and fruit.” In Dutch, purpose is expressed with om + [object] + te + [infinitive verb]. The entire clause comes at the end of the sentence.
Why is te placed directly before kopen at the end of the clause?
In an om … te purpose construction, te always precedes the infinitive verb. The order is fixed: om … te [verb], and the clause is positioned after the main clause.
Why are there no articles before groenten and fruit?
Here they’re used in a general, indefinite sense (“some vegetables and fruit”), so no article is needed. To specify, you could say de groenten or het fruit.
Can you also say om groente en fruit te kopen using singular groente?
Yes. Groente can function as an uncountable collective noun, while groenten is the plural. Both om groente en fruit te kopen and om groenten en fruit te kopen are correct.
Is it acceptable to start with Ik ga instead of Zondagochtend ga ik?
Absolutely. If you begin with Ik, the verb ga remains in second position and zondagochtend follows:
Ik ga zondagochtend naar de markt om groenten en fruit te kopen.