Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tom verloor zijn nieuwe broek al na één week. - Tom lost his new trousers after only one week.

Verloor is the first/third-person singular simple past of verliezen, meaning “to lose.” It tells us that Tom already lost his trousers in the past. In Dutch, to describe a completed action, you often use the simple past (also called the imperfectum), especially in written or formal narratives.

Why is zijn used before nieuwe broek, and could I use haar or another pronoun?

Zijn is the possessive pronoun for “his,” referring to Tom. Dutch possessives agree with the person who owns the object, not with the object itself. If the subject were a female (Anna, for example), you’d say Anna verloor haar nieuwe broek. For “our,” “your,” or “their,” you’d use respectively onze, jullie, or hun.

Why does nieuwe take an –e ending here?

Adjectives in Dutch get an –e ending when they precede a singular noun that is de-gender or follows a definite article (de, deze) or a possessive pronoun (zoals zijn). Since broek is a de-word and is qualified by zijn, nieuw becomes nieuwe.

What does al na mean, and how is it different from just na or binnen?

Na één week simply means “after one week.” Adding al gives a sense of “already” or “as soon as,” so al na één week means “already after just one week” (implying it happened surprisingly soon). Binnen één week would mean “within one week,” focusing on the time span rather than the surprising quickness.

Why is één written with an accent (the acute accent)?

With an accent, één clearly marks the numeral “one,” distinguishing it from the indefinite article een (“a/an”). It signals that you really mean the number one, not just any week.

Why is there no article before week in na één week?

In Dutch, time expressions built with a preposition + numeral + time unit (like na één week, binnen drie dagen, over twee uur) omit any additional article. The structure itself is complete: preposition + exact number + unit.

Could I say binnen een week instead of al na één week, and what nuance would that carry?

Yes, you can say Tom verloor zijn nieuwe broek binnen een week, which means “Tom lost his new trousers within a week.” This focuses on the maximum time it took. Without al, it doesn’t convey the element of surprise that it happened so quickly.

Why is the time expression al na één week placed at the end of the sentence?

Dutch basic word order is Subject – Verb – Object – (Other elements like time/place/manner). Time adverbials often come after the object. You could also front it (Al na één week verloor Tom...) for emphasis, but the default is at the end.

Could I use kwijtgeraakt or kwijtraken instead of verliezen, and what’s the difference?

You can say Tom is zijn nieuwe broek kwijtgeraakt, using the intransitive kwijtraken (to get lost/become lost). That version uses a perfect tense with zijn (Tom is… kwijtgeraakt). Verliezen is transitive (“to lose something”); kwijtraken often emphasizes the state of being misplaced. Both are correct but slightly different in focus.