Learn Hardcore Dutch: Wij zetten de tent op en lopen eromheen.

Because opzetten is a separable verb. In main clauses, Dutch puts the finite verb in second position (V2) and sends the separable particle to the end.

Main clause: Wij zetten de tent op.
Subordinate clause: … dat wij de tent opzetten.
Infinitive/participle: opzetten, opgezet (e.g., We hebben de tent opgezet.)

What exactly does eromheen mean and how is it built?

Eromheen is a pronominal adverb: er + preposition om + postposition heen. It means “around it,” and here it refers back to de tent. If you name the noun explicitly, you use the split circumposition: om de tent heen (We walk around the tent).

Should I write eromheen as one word or er omheen?

Standard spelling is one word: eromheen. You split it only if something comes in between:

We lopen er netjes omheen. Writing er omheen with nothing in between is non‑standard in most style guides.

Can I say We lopen rond de tent instead of We lopen eromheen?

Yes. Natural alternatives:

We lopen om de tent heen.
We lopen rond de tent.
We lopen rondom de tent. (a bit more formal/literary) All mean “around the tent.” Om … heen often feels a bit more like “all the way around,” but in everyday speech they’re interchangeable.

Why can’t I say We lopen om het heen for “around it”?

With pronouns you generally use pronominal adverbs. So not om het heen, but eromheen (“around it”). For people, use object pronouns: om hem/haar/hen heen (you don’t use er for persons).

What’s the difference between wij and we?

Both mean “we.” Wij is the stressed form (adds emphasis, e.g., “we—as opposed to others”), while we is the normal, unstressed form and is more common in speech and writing.

Are the verb forms zetten and lopen correct for “we”?

Yes. Present tense:

zetten: ik zet, jij zet, hij/zij zet, wij/jullie/zij zetten
lopen: ik loop, jij loopt, hij/zij loopt, wij/jullie/zij lopen Past: zette(n); liep/liepen. Participles: gezet, gelopen.

Is the sentence in the present or past tense?

Present. If it were past, you’d expect: Wij zetten de tent op en liepen eromheen. Note that plural past zetten looks the same as present, but lopen would change to liepen in the past.

Can I say Wij zetten op de tent?

No. Here opzetten is a compound verb meaning “set up/put up.” If you use zetten … op with op as a preposition, it must take its own object (e.g., Zet de pan op het vuur = “Put the pan on the fire”). In de tent opzetten, op is the particle of the verb, not a preposition.

How would this look in a subordinate clause?

All verbs go to the end, and the separable verb reunites:

… omdat we de tent opzetten en eromheen lopen. Here opzetten and lopen are both at the end; eromheen stays directly before lopen.

How do I say “We have set up the tent and walked around it”?

We hebben de tent opgezet en eromheen gelopen. (For lopen, Dutch typically uses hebben when it’s about the activity, not a change of location.)

Can I drop the article and say Wij zetten tent op?

No. You need an article. Use de for “the” (de tent) or een for “a” (Wij zetten een tent op).

Does lopen ever mean “to run”?

In standard Dutch, lopen = “to walk.” To run is rennen or hardlopen. Beware of interference from German (laufen = run). Note: lopen can mean “to run” for machines (“De motor loopt”), but for people moving fast use rennen/hardlopen.

Is it okay to omit the second subject after en?

Yes. Dutch can omit a repeated subject in coordinated clauses: Wij zetten de tent op en lopen eromheen. You can also repeat it for emphasis/clarity: … en we lopen eromheen.

Why do we have both om and heen? Would just om work?

Dutch often uses a circumposition om … heen for “around.” With a noun, om de tent (heen) is fine; with a pronoun, the idiomatic form is eromheen. Using just erom usually changes the meaning to “about it/it’s about” (e.g., Het gaat erom dat…), not physical movement around something.

Is there a single verb like omheenlopen?

In practice you’ll hear eromheen lopen or om … heen lopen. A fused verb omheenlopen is not standard and can look odd. There is a different verb omlopen (“to take a detour/bypass”), which is not the same as “walk around it (once).”

What about daaromheen or hieromheen?

They’re parallel pronominal adverbs:

daaromheen = “around that/around it (that one over there)”
hieromheen = “around this/around here” Example: Zie je die boom? Laten we daaromheen lopen.