Wij ademen rustig in de tuin.

We breathe calmly in the garden.

Breakdown of Wij ademen rustig in de tuin.

• wij: we
• in: in
• de tuin: the garden
• rustig: calmly
• ademen: to breathe

Questions & Answers about Wij ademen rustig in de tuin.

Why is it wij here instead of we? When do I use each?

Both mean “we.” we is the default, unstressed form in everyday speech and writing. wij is the stressed/emphatic form and is used when you want to contrast or highlight the subject.

• Neutral: We ademen rustig in de tuin.
• Emphatic/contrasting: Wij ademen rustig in de tuin (not they). After a preposition you don’t use we/wij; you use ons: met ons, bij ons.

How do you conjugate ademen in the present tense?

It’s regular:

• ik adem
• jij/je ademt (but with inversion: Adem jij…?)
• hij/zij/het ademt
• wij/jullie/zij ademen

Is ademen regular in the past? What are the past forms and the participle?

Yes, regular (with -de):

• Simple past: ik/jij/hij ademde, wij/jullie/zij ademden
• Past participle: geademd (with hebben): We hebben rustig in de tuin geademd.

How do I say English “are breathing”? Does Dutch have a separate continuous?

Dutch usually uses the simple present for both “breathe” and “are breathing”: We ademen… If you really want a progressive, use:

• We zijn (rustig) aan het ademen.
• With a posture verb: We zitten in de tuin rustig te ademen.

What exactly does rustig mean here?

rustig means “calmly/steadily” and often implies “slowly, without stress.” It does not necessarily mean “quietly (low volume).”

• “quietly/softly” is more like stil or zachtjes.
• As an adjective it’s rustig/rustige: een rustige tuin (“a quiet/peaceful garden”).

Why is rustig before in de tuin? Is that the normal order?

Yes. A common adverbial order in Dutch is Time–Manner–Place. Here, rustig is manner and in de tuin is place:

• Wij ademen (Time) rustig (Manner) in de tuin (Place).

Can I say Wij ademen in de tuin rustig?

Grammatically possible, but it’s marked and less natural. You’d only do this with special emphasis on rustig. The neutral word order is Wij ademen rustig in de tuin.

Why in de tuin and not op de tuin?

With tuin the standard preposition is in (you are “in” that space). Dutch prepositions are partly lexical:

• in de tuin, in het park
• but op het strand (“on the beach”), op het terras (“on the terrace”) Stick with in de tuin in standard Dutch.

Why de and not het with tuin?

tuin is a common-gender noun, so it takes de: de tuin. Indefinite: een tuin. With a possessive you drop the article: in mijn/onze tuin.

How do I turn the sentence into a yes/no question or a wh-question?

• Yes/no question (verb–subject inversion): Ademen wij rustig in de tuin?
• Wh-questions:
  • Place: Waar ademen wij rustig? — In de tuin.
  • Manner: Hoe ademen wij (in de tuin)? — Rustig.
  • Time: Wanneer ademen wij rustig in de tuin?

How do I negate it? Where does niet go?

Place niet before what you want to negate:

• Not calmly (negates the adverb): Wij ademen niet rustig in de tuin. (also possible: Wij ademen in de tuin niet rustig.)
• Not in the garden (negates the place): Wij ademen rustig, niet in de tuin.
• Negate the whole activity: Wij ademen niet (in de tuin).

Can I drop wij like in English sometimes (“Breathe calmly…”)?

Not in statements. Dutch needs the subject pronoun: Wij ademen…
Without a subject, you get an imperative: Adem rustig in de tuin. (“Breathe calmly in the garden.”)

Are ademen and ademhalen the same? What about inademen and uitademen?

• ademen = to breathe (ongoing process). Your sentence uses this.
• ademhalen / adem halen = also “to breathe,” often felt as “to take a breath.” It behaves like a separable compound in use: Hij haalt adem, past hij haalde adem, participle often heeft adem gehaald (also seen: heeft ademgehaald).
• inademen = to inhale (imperative: Adem in!)
• uitademen = to exhale (imperative: Adem uit!)

Any pronunciation tips for tricky sounds in this sentence?

• wij: ij ≈ the vowel in English “eye” (Dutch /ɛi/).
• ademen: the middle e is a schwa (uh): a-de-men.
• rustig: u is a fronted /ʏ/ (somewhere between “put” and German “ü”); final g is the guttural sound (like a Scottish “loch”).
• tuin: ui is /œy/, a rounded vowel sliding toward “y”; practice with a rounded “uh” + “ee” glide.

Can I front the place phrase for emphasis?

Yes. Dutch is verb-second (V2), so you can front in de tuin and keep the finite verb second:

• In de tuin ademen wij rustig. This emphasizes the location. Using we vs wij after fronting controls how much you stress the subject:
• Neutral: In de tuin ademen we rustig.
• Emphatic subject: In de tuin ademen wij rustig.