Wij reageren op ideeën.

We respond to ideas.

Breakdown of Wij reageren op ideeën.

• wij: we
• het idee: the idea
• reageren op: to respond to

Questions & Answers about Wij reageren op ideeën.

What is the difference between wij and we in this sentence?

Wij and we both mean we in Dutch. Wij is the full, emphatic form (often used for emphasis or in more formal contexts), whereas we is the unstressed, colloquial form you’ll hear in everyday speech. You can say either:

• Wij reageren op ideeën (more emphatic)
• We reageren op ideeën (more casual)

Is reageren a separable verb in Dutch?

No. reageren is a non-separable, prepositional verb (derived from French) and always stays intact. You conjugate the whole verb and then add the prepositional object:
Wij reageren op ideeën
You do not split it as you would with Germanic separable-prefix verbs. Even in an imperative you keep the verb together: Reageer op ideeën! (not Reageer en op ideeën!).

Why is there op before ideeën?

In Dutch, reageren always takes the preposition op to express react to. Literally you “react on” something. So to say “react to ideas” you use:
reageren + op + ideeën
→ Wij reageren op ideeën

Can I front the object and say ?