Wij staan bij de ingang van het museum.

We are standing at the entrance of the museum.

Breakdown of Wij staan bij de ingang van het museum.

• wij: we
• staan: to stand
• van: of
• bij: at
• het museum: the museum
• de ingang: the entrance

Questions & Answers about Wij staan bij de ingang van het museum.

What does bij mean in this sentence—and why is it bij de ingang instead of in de ingang or op de ingang?

Bij in Dutch often translates as at or by in English, indicating proximity or location next to something.

• in de ingang would mean inside the entrance (as if you’re standing physically within its threshold).
• op de ingang isn’t used because op implies resting on a surface (“on top of”), which doesn’t fit an entrance.
  So bij de ingang correctly means standing at/by the entrance, right outside or next to it.

Why is it de ingang? Is ingang feminine or masculine?

Dutch has two grammatical genders: common (using de) and neuter (using het).

• Ingang (“entrance”) is a common-gender noun, so it takes de.
  There isn’t a separate masculine vs. feminine article in modern Dutch—both use de.

Why is it het museum and not de museum?

Museum is a neuter noun in Dutch, so it requires the article het.
If you needed an indefinite article, you’d say een museum (a museum), still neuter.

Why do we use the verb staan here? Could we use zitten or liggen instead?

Dutch uses staan (to stand) for someone or something that is upright on their feet (or base).

• zitten means to sit, and liggen means to lie (down).
  You only choose zitten if someone is seated and liggen if they’re lying down. Since the people in your sentence are on their feet, staan is correct.

What role does van play in van het museum?

Van is the Dutch preposition for of or from in possession or origin contexts. Here it links de ingang to het museum, so de ingang van het museum = the entrance of the museum (i.e. the museum’s entrance).

Can we drop wij and just say staan bij de ingang van het museum?

Technically, yes—context can allow you to omit the subject pronoun in casual speech or notes. However:

• In spoken Dutch, you’d more commonly use we instead of wij.
• Omitting the pronoun entirely sounds clipped; it’s clearer to say (We) staan bij de ingang van het museum.

What is the word order in Wij staan bij de ingang van het museum?

Dutch main clauses follow Subject–Verb–Object/Complement (SVO/C). Here:

1. Wij = Subject
2. staan = Verb
3. bij de ingang van het museum = Prepositional phrase acting as a locational complement
   So it aligns neatly as S – V – PP (prepositional phrase).