Breakdown of Morgen ga ik met de trein naar het vliegveld.
ik
I
gaan
to go
morgen
tomorrow
naar
to
de trein
the train
met
by
het vliegveld
the airport
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Questions & Answers about Morgen ga ik met de trein naar het vliegveld.
Why is Morgen placed at the beginning of the sentence instead of saying Ik ga morgen met de trein naar het vliegveld?
In Dutch you can front a time adverbial (like morgen) for emphasis or style. Whenever you put an element in first position, the finite verb still has to occupy the second position (V2 rule). So you get:
- Morgen (time in position 1)
- ga (verb in position 2)
- ik (subject in position 3)
- Rest of the sentence.
You could also say Ik ga morgen met de trein naar het vliegveld, but starting with Morgen highlights that it’s happening tomorrow.
Why is the verb ga in the present tense used to talk about a future action?
Dutch typically uses the present tense with a clear future time marker (like morgen) instead of a special future tense. So Morgen ga ik... naturally means “Tomorrow I will go…” You can form a true future with zal, for example Morgen zal ik met de trein naar het vliegveld gaan, but in spoken and informal Dutch the simple present is much more common.
What does met de trein literally mean, and why is met used here for “by train”?
Literally met de trein is “with the train.” Dutch uses met + definite article + mode of transport to express “by [transport].” Common examples:
- met de bus (by bus)
- met de fiets (by bicycle)
- met de auto (by car)
Why is it naar het vliegveld and not naar de vliegveld?
Dutch nouns are either common gender (de) or neuter gender (het). Vliegveld is a neuter noun, so it takes het in the singular: het vliegveld. Hence the phrase naar het vliegveld (“to the airport”).
What’s the difference between vliegveld and luchthaven?
- Vliegveld literally means “flying field.” It can refer to any airfield, often smaller or more informal.
- Luchthaven literally means “air harbour” and usually denotes a larger or official airport.
In everyday speech many people use them interchangeably, but on signage at major airports you’ll often see luchthaven.
Why is there no infinitive at the end of the sentence, as in subordinate clauses?
This is a main clause with a single finite verb (ga) in position 2 and no auxiliary. Since there’s no second verb or infinitive to push to the end, you simply list the objects and prepositional phrases after the subject. Subordinate clauses or sentences with auxiliaries (e.g. modal verbs) are when you typically see the infinitive at the very end.
How would you ask someone how they’re going to the airport?
You’d use hoe (“how”) and invert subject and verb for a question. Informal:
- Hoe ga je naar het vliegveld?
Formal: - Hoe gaat u naar het vliegveld?
Can morgen ever mean “morning” in Dutch?
In modern Dutch the standard word for “morning” is ochtend (de ochtend). Although morgen used to mean “morning” historically, that usage is now archaic. In our sentence Morgen (capitalized at the start) functions as an adverb meaning “tomorrow.”
Why is vliegveld written as one word instead of two words?
Dutch prefers closed compounds: multiple words combine into a single noun. So vlieg (“fly”) + veld (“field”) becomes one solid word vliegveld. English often writes compounds separately or with a hyphen, but Dutch nearly always fuses them.