Breakdown of Gisteren hebben wij over het ongeluk gesproken.
Questions & Answers about Gisteren hebben wij over het ongeluk gesproken.
Dutch uses a V2 (verb-second) word order in main clauses. When you front a time adverbial like gisteren, the finite verb (hebben) must occupy the second position. That pushes the subject pronoun (wij) to third position. So:
• Position 1: gisteren (time)
• Position 2: hebben (finite verb)
• Position 3: wij (subject)
Yes, you can. Keeping the subject first gives you the neutral SVO order:
Wij hebben gisteren over het ongeluk gesproken.
The meaning is identical. Fronting gisteren only adds a slight emphasis on when the conversation took place.
Here over translates as “about” in English, indicating the topic of conversation.
• van often means “of” or “from” and doesn’t convey “talk about.”
• om has other uses (e.g. om acht uur = “at eight o’clock”) and isn’t used for “about.”