Tijdens de wiskundeles gebruiken we vaak de rekenmachine.

During math class we often use the calculator.

Breakdown of Tijdens de wiskundeles gebruiken we vaak de rekenmachine.

• wij: we
• tijdens: during
• gebruiken: to use
• vaak: often
• de rekenmachine: the calculator
• de wiskundeles: the math class

Questions & Answers about Tijdens de wiskundeles gebruiken we vaak de rekenmachine.

What does tijdens mean, and how is it used in this sentence?

tijdens is a preposition meaning “during” or “while.” It must be followed by a noun (with its article). Here tijdens de wiskundeles literally means “during the math lesson,” indicating when the action happens.

Why is it de wiskundeles and not just wiskundeles?

les (“lesson”) is a common de-word, so it needs the article de. Also, wiskundeles is a compound noun (wiskunde + les) written as one word in Dutch. We put de in front of the whole compound.

Why is gebruiken placed before we in the sentence?

Dutch main clauses follow the Verb-Second (V2) rule. Whatever comes first (here Tijdens de wiskundeles) counts as the first element; the finite verb (gebruiken) must then be the second element, and the subject (we) comes third.

Why does vaak appear after we, and could we move it?

vaak is an adverb of frequency. In a typical Dutch structure, adverbs like vaak come after the subject and before (or after) the object:
– Standard: ... gebruiken we vaak de rekenmachine.
You could also say:
– Tijdens de wiskundeles gebruiken we de rekenmachine vaak.
but that places the adverb in the “end position,” which is less neutral.

Why is it de rekenmachine instead of een rekenmachine?

When speaking generically about an item or device, Dutch often uses the definite article. de rekenmachine here doesn’t point to one specific calculator but to “the calculator” as a concept (i.e. calculators in general).

How would you express the same idea with a plural?

You can drop the article and use the plural:
Tijdens de wiskundeles gebruiken we vaak rekenmachines.
Here rekenmachines is the plural of rekenmachine.

How do you know to conjugate gebruiken as gebruiken and not gebruikt with we?

Dutch verbs in the present tense:

• Singular (ik, jij, hij) take a –t or no ending (ik gebruik, hij gebruikt).
• Plural subjects (we, jullie, zij) always use the infinitive form: we gebruiken.

Could you start the sentence with Vaak instead of Tijdens de wiskundeles? How would that change the meaning or structure?

Yes. If you front vaak, you get:
Vaak gebruiken we tijdens de wiskundeles de rekenmachine.
Adverb-first emphasizes frequency, and you still follow V2: the verb remains second, then the subject. The nuance shifts slightly to “Often, we use the calculator during math class.”