Questions & Answers about Inderdaad, wij komen straks langs.
What nuance does “Inderdaad” add compared to just saying “Wij komen straks langs”?
“Inderdaad” literally means “indeed” and is usually used to:
- Confirm something that was just said:
- A: “Komen jullie straks langs?” – “Are you coming by later?”
- B: “Inderdaad, wij komen straks langs.” – “Yes, indeed, we’re coming by later.”
- Emphasize agreement or strengthen a “yes”.
If you say only “Wij komen straks langs”, you’re just giving the information.
Adding “Inderdaad” makes it feel like: “Yes, that’s right, we will come by later.”
Why is there a comma after “Inderdaad”? Is it required?
The comma after “Inderdaad” is optional but very common.
- With comma: “Inderdaad, wij komen straks langs.”
This reflects a small pause in speech and looks natural in writing. - Without comma: “Inderdaad wij komen straks langs.”
Grammatically possible, but it feels a bit rushed or less natural.
In practice, when “Inderdaad” stands at the beginning of a sentence as a separate confirmation, Dutch writers almost always use the comma.
What is the difference between “wij” and “we” in Dutch?