Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tijdens de uitverkoop komen we vroeg, zodat we onze maat nog kunnen vinden. - During the sale we arrive early, so that we can still find our size.

Neutral word order: We komen vroeg. (subject first, verb second)
When you put a time phrase at the beginning, that counts as position 1:
- Tijdens de uitverkoop = position 1
- komen (finite verb) = position 2
- we (subject) comes after that.

So:
Tijdens de uitverkoop komen we vroeg.
“During the sale we come early.”

You cannot say: Tijdens de uitverkoop we komen vroeg. That breaks V2 word order.

Why “tijdens de uitverkoop” and not “in de uitverkoop” or “bij de uitverkoop”?

tijdens = during (focus on the time period)
- Tijdens de uitverkoop komen we vroeg.
  “We come early during the sale period.”
in de uitverkoop is also used, but usually more like “on sale / in the clearance”:
- Deze schoenen zijn in de uitverkoop.
  “These shoes are on sale / in the clearance.”
bij de uitverkoop would sound odd here. Bij is more “at / near” as a location or occasion:
- We werken bij de uitverkoop. (even this is strange; you’d more likely say bij de winkel).

In your sentence, you’re talking about when you come, so tijdens (during that period) is the natural choice.

What exactly does “uitverkoop” mean, and is it always used for “sale”?

Uitverkoop literally means something like “selling out” and usually refers to a big clearance sale, often at the end of a season.

Common words:

de uitverkoop – often a larger or seasonal sale (winter sale, summer sale).
de opruiming – very similar to uitverkoop, also used for clearance sales.
aanbieding (plural: aanbiedingen) – special offers, individual items on sale.
English “sale” is also used in advertising: Sale! on posters.

So de uitverkoop here means “the big sale” / “the clearance (period)”.

Why is there a comma before “zodat”?

Zodat introduces a subordinate clause (a dependent clause) expressing purpose or result.

Split the sentence:

Main clause: Tijdens de uitverkoop komen we vroeg
Subordinate clause: zodat we onze maat nog kunnen vinden

In Dutch writing, it’s standard (and strongly recommended) to place a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by words like zodat, omdat, hoewel, als, dat, etc.

So the comma is there to show the boundary between the main clause and the clause with zodat.

How does word order work in “zodat we onze maat nog kunnen vinden”?

In clauses introduced by zodat, Dutch uses subordinate-clause word order:

Subordinator: zodat
Subject: we
Other elements: onze maat, nog
Verbs at the end of the clause.

So:

zodat (linking word)
we (subject)
onze maat (object)
nog (adverb)
kunnen vinden (verbs at the end: modal kunnen, then main verb vinden)

General pattern for subclauses:
[zodat] + [subject] + (objects/adverbs) + [all verbs at the end]

You cannot say: zodat we kunnen vinden onze maat nog.

Why is it “zodat” and not “dus”?

Both relate clauses, but they’re not interchangeable:

zodat = “so that” and introduces a subordinate clause of purpose or result:
- We komen vroeg, zodat we onze maat nog kunnen vinden.
  “We come early so that we can still find our size.”
  → expresses our goal/purpose.
dus = “so / therefore” and introduces a new main clause (and keeps main-clause word order):
- De uitverkoop is druk, dus we komen vroeg.
  “The sale is busy, so we come early.”
  → states a conclusion/result.

Grammatically:

zodat → subordinate clause → verbs go to the end.
dus → main clause → verb stays in second position.

Your sentence is about intention, so zodat is correct.

What does “nog” add in “onze maat nog kunnen vinden”?

Nog has several meanings; here it means “still / yet (before it’s too late)”.

We komen vroeg, zodat we onze maat nog kunnen vinden.
→ “We come early, so that we can still find our size (before it’s gone).”

Other common uses of nog:

Ik ben nog thuis. – I’m still at home.
Moet je nog koffie? – Do you want coffee (as well / additionally)?

In this sentence, nog suggests that the sizes might sell out, and we want to find ours while it’s still available.

Why “onze” maat and not “ons” maat?

Dutch has two forms for “our”: ons and onze.

Use ons with het-words (neuter nouns, singular):
- ons huis (het huis)
- ons kind (het kind)
Use onze with:
- de-words (common gender):
  - onze maat (de maat)
  - onze winkel (de winkel)
- all plurals, regardless of gender:
  - onze maten (sizes)
  - onze schoenen (shoes)

Since maat is a de-word (de maat), you must say onze maat.

What does “maat” mean here? Isn’t maat also “buddy/friend”?

Yes, maat has several meanings:

Size (clothing, shoes, etc.) – this is the meaning in your sentence:
- Welke maat heb je? – What size are you?
- Onze maat – our size (for clothes, shoes, etc.)
Buddy / mate (informal):
- Hé maat, alles goed? – Hey mate, everything good?
Other technical meanings (measure, measure unit), less relevant here.

In this shopping context, onze maat clearly means “our size”, not “our buddy”.

Why is present tense “komen we vroeg” used if it’s about the future?

Dutch often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially when the context makes the time clear.

Morgen komen we vroeg. – We’re coming early tomorrow.
Volgende week ga ik op vakantie. – I’m going on holiday next week.

Your sentence describes a general habit or plan during sales:

Tijdens de uitverkoop komen we vroeg...
→ “When there’s a sale, we (always) come early...”

You could say zullen we vroeg komen, but here the simple present is more natural for:

habitual actions (we usually do this) or
fixed plans.

Could I change the word order in the second part, for example: “zodat we nog onze maat kunnen vinden”?

Yes, that variation is possible and still correct:

zodat we onze maat nog kunnen vinden
zodat we nog onze maat kunnen vinden

Both are understood and grammatical. The difference is very small:

onze maat nog kunnen vinden → neutral, very common.
nog onze maat kunnen vinden → nog is slightly more prominent; you stress a bit more that it’s still possible.

What you can’t do (in standard Dutch) is move the finite verb out of the final position:

❌ zodat we nog kunnen vinden onze maat
(verbs must stay at the end in a subordinate clause).