Wij mediteren elke ochtend in de tuin.

We meditate every morning in the garden.

Breakdown of Wij mediteren elke ochtend in de tuin.

• wij: we
• in: in
• elke: every
• de tuin: the garden
• de ochtend: the morning
• mediteren: to meditate

Questions & Answers about Wij mediteren elke ochtend in de tuin.

Why is “Wij” used here? Can I use “We” instead, or even drop the subject pronoun altogether?

In Dutch you normally need a subject pronoun (unlike pro-drop languages such as Spanish). Both Wij and We mean “we,” but:

• Wij is more emphatic or formal.
• We is the everyday, colloquial form.
  You cannot simply omit the pronoun—every finite clause in Dutch requires an explicit subject (exceptions are very colloquial fragments).

What is the rule for conjugating mediteren in the present tense?

Mediteren belongs to the “-eren” verbs (like organiseren, reage­ren). The pattern is regular:

• ik mediteer
• jij mediteert
• hij/zij mediteert
• wij mediteren
  Key points:
  
  1. The infinitive ends in -eren; you never drop the extra e.
  2. For jij/hij/zij you add -t to the stem (mediteer → mediteert).

Why is it elke ochtend and not elk ochtend? Also, what about iedere ochtend?

• elk versus elke depends on the noun’s gender and whether there’s an ending:
  • elk
  • neuter noun without ending (e.g. elk huis)
    • elke
    • common-gender or plural nouns (e.g. elke ochtend, elke dag)
• ieder/iedere is a near-synonym of elk/elke. You’ll hear both elke ochtend and iedere ochtend, with no real difference in meaning.

What is the typical word order for expressions like elke ochtend and in de tuin? Could they swap places?

Dutch adverbials generally follow the sequence: time – (manner) – place. In your sentence:

1. elke ochtend (time)
2. [no specific manner expressed]
3. in de tuin (place)
   However, you can front a time expression for emphasis, which triggers inversion of verb and subject:
   
   • Elke ochtend mediteren wij in de tuin.
     You could also say Wij mediteren in de tuin elke ochtend, but time-place order (time before place) sounds more natural.

Why do we say in de tuin and not op de tuin or naar de tuin?

• in indicates being inside a bounded space: in de tuin = “in the garden.”
• op marks being on a surface (e.g. op het balkon, op het dak).
• naar indicates motion towards: wij gaan elke ochtend naar de tuin (we go to the garden), but if you’re already there and simply meditate, you use in.

How do you pronounce the diphthongs ij in wij and ui in tuin?

Dutch has two distinct diphthongs here:

• ij (as in wij): sounds like [ɛi], roughly English “ay” in “day,” but with a more closed vowel start.
• ui (as in tuin): a uniquely Dutch sound [œy], roughly like starting with the French “eu” (as in peur) gliding to “i.” It takes practice!

Why isn’t there an article before ochtend? Doesn’t Dutch usually need “de” or “het”?

When you use a determiner like elke, iedere, sommige, etc., you do not add another article. So elke ochtend = “every morning.” If you wanted to say “in the morning” more generally, you could use in de ochtend without elke.

Could I rephrase this to show a continuous activity, for example Wij zitten elke ochtend in de tuin te mediteren?

Yes! Dutch often uses zitten + te + infinitive to indicate an ongoing or continuous action:

• Wij zitten elke ochtend in de tuin te mediteren.
  This adds the nuance of “we’re sitting there and meditating,” much like the English progressive.