Breakdown of Na het eten vullen we de thermos opnieuw met heet water.
Questions & Answers about Na het eten vullen we de thermos opnieuw met heet water.
This is due to inversion. When you start a Dutch main clause with any element other than the subject (for example, a time phrase like Na het eten), the verb immediately follows that fronted element, then comes the subject. Structure:
- Fronted element (Na het eten)
- Verb (vullen)
- Subject (we)
Both opnieuw and weer translate as “again.”
- Opnieuw emphasizes repeating the entire action from the start (“fill it again from empty”).
- Weer is more colloquial and general.
In this sentence you could also say:
“We vullen de thermos weer met heet water,”
but opnieuw often sounds a bit more formal or precise.
Water is an uncountable noun when you speak about it in general. In such cases Dutch typically omits the article:
- Correct: vullen we de thermos met heet water
- With an article (to specify): vullen we de thermos met het hete water uit de flessenwarmer
- The double e indicates a long vowel sound, pronounced /e:/.
- Adjectives in Dutch take an extra -e only when they precede a definite or plural noun (de + noun, het with non–neuter, or any plural). Here water is uncountable and used without an article, so the adjective remains in its base form: heet water, not hete water.
Vullen is a transitive verb that takes a direct object (“fill something”). You say vullen de thermos met water without adding a preposition to the verb itself.
Opvullen is a separable verb meaning “to fill up (completely).” You could say:
- “Na het eten vullen we de thermos weer op.”
but then op moves to the end: vullen … op.
Yes. If you keep the subject we in first position, you do not invert. The verb stays in second position:
“We vullen na het eten de thermos opnieuw met heet water.”