Breakdown of Wanneer de dauw verdwijnt, rollen we de slaapzakken op en verlaten we de tent.
wij
we
en
and
wanneer
when
verdwijnen
to disappear
verlaten
to leave
de dauw
the dew
de tent
the tent
oprollen
to roll up
de slaapzak
the sleeping bag
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Questions & Answers about Wanneer de dauw verdwijnt, rollen we de slaapzakken op en verlaten we de tent.
What does wanneer mean here, and why use wanneer instead of als?
Wanneer means “when” in the sense of “at the moment that.” In Dutch you can often use wanneer for moments in time. Als can also mean “when,” but it’s more commonly used for conditional sentences or repeated events (e.g. Als ik tijd heb, ga ik wandelen – “If/when I have time, I go for a walk”). Here we describe the one‐time event of the dew disappearing, so wanneer is preferred.
Why does the verb verdwijnt come at the end of wanneer de dauw verdwijnt?
Because any subordinate clause introduced by a conjunction like wanneer in Dutch follows the SOV (subject‐object‐verb) word order. The finite verb verdwijnt moves to the end of that clause.
After the comma, why is rollen placed before we, instead of after?
Since the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause must use inversion: the finite verb (rollen) takes the first position, then the subject (we). That’s standard V2 (verb‐second) word order.
Why is there a comma after verdwijnt?
In Dutch you mark the boundary between a subordinate clause and the main clause with a comma. As soon as you finish wanneer de dauw verdwijnt, you put a comma before starting the inverted main clause.
What is oprollen and why do we see rollen … op here?
Oprollen is a separable verb meaning “to roll up.” In a main clause, the prefix op detaches and moves to the end: rollen we de slaapzakken op.
Why do we say rollen we … op en verlaten we … with two wes? Could we skip the second one?
In Dutch, when you connect two main clauses with en, each clause still needs its own verb‐subject structure to maintain V2 order. Omitting the second we would leave the verb in first position without a subject directly after it, which sounds odd or ungrammatical.
Why is verlaten used here instead of vertrekken?
Verlaten means “to leave behind/abandon,” focusing on the act of leaving the tent itself. Vertrekken (uit) would mean “to depart from” and is followed by uit if you specify where you’re leaving (e.g. vertrekken uit de tent). Both can be correct, but verlaten is more concise here.
Why is the present tense used for actions that happen in the future (“when the dew disappears, we will roll up…”)?
Dutch often uses the present tense to describe future sequences, especially when the time frame is clear from context (here: wanneer de dauw verdwijnt). Adding zullen to force a future tense is possible but more formal and less common in spoken instructions.
What is de dauw, and why is it de?
Dauw means “dew.” All non‐diminutive, non-meervoud nouns ending in a consonant or unstressed vowel typically take de (the common gender). So it’s de dauw, not het dauw.
Could we say wij instead of we?
Yes. Wij is the full form of we, used for emphasis or formality. In everyday speech and writing, we is perfectly normal and more colloquial.