Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd roept elke fan luid voor zijn of haar kampioen. - During the last match every fan shouts loudly for his or her champion.

Why does the sentence start with "Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd" and then put the verb "roept" directly after it? Why isn’t it "Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd elke fan roept ..."?

In Dutch main clauses, the finite verb must be in second position (the “V2 rule”).

Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd = one constituent (an adverbial time phrase)
After that, the finite verb must come: roept
Then comes the subject: elke fan
Then the rest: luid voor zijn of haar kampioen

So the structure is:

[Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd] [roept] [elke fan] [luid voor zijn of haar kampioen].

You can also say:

Elke fan roept tijdens de laatste wedstrijd luid voor zijn of haar kampioen.

Here Elke fan is first, and roept is still in second position.

But:

✗ Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd elke fan roept luid...

is incorrect in standard Dutch, because the verb is no longer in second place.

Why is it "tijdens" and not "in" for “during the last match”?

Both tijdens and in can sometimes be translated as “during,” but they’re used differently.

tijdens + noun = “during” in the sense of throughout the period of:
- Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd = during the last match (while it is going on)
- Tijdens de vakantie = during the holidays
in + noun is often more literal “in” (inside) or “in the course of,” and with time it usually refers to a time frame, not an event:
- in de vakantie = in the holidays / in the vacation period
- in de winter = in winter

For an event like a match, lesson, meeting, etc., Dutch most often uses tijdens:

tijdens de wedstrijd / tijdens de les / tijdens de vergadering

So Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd is the natural choice.

What is the nuance of "de laatste wedstrijd"? Is it like “the last match” or “the final”?

De laatste wedstrijd literally means “the last match” in a sequence. It can be:

the last one of the season
the last one of a tournament
just the most recent match (“the last match we played”)

It does not automatically mean “final” as in a championship final (semi-final, quarter-final etc.). For that, Dutch more often uses words like:

de finale = the final
de halve finale = the semi-final
de kwartfinale = the quarter-final

So:

Tijdens de finale – during the final
Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd – during the last (or most recent) match

Why is it "roept" and not something like "schreeuwt" or "juicht"? What’s the difference?

All three are possible, but they have different nuances:

roepen – to call, shout, yell (not necessarily extremely loud)
- roept luid = calls/shouts loudly
  It can be used for calling someone (“Mam!”), or for cheering, depending on context.
schreeuwen – to scream, shout very loudly (often more aggressive or very loud)
- schreeuwt luid can sound a bit harsh or intense.
juichen – to cheer (positively, with joy after something good happens)
- De fans juichen voor hun team = The fans cheer for their team.

In this sentence, roept luid suggests that each fan is calling out or yelling loudly, maybe slogans, names, etc., not just the momentary celebration of a goal. You could change it to:

Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd juicht elke fan luid voor zijn of haar kampioen.

That shifts the meaning more toward celebratory cheering.

Why is it "elke fan" and not "alle fans"?

Both are correct Dutch, but they mean different things grammatically:

elke fan = each fan / every fan (singular)
- Verb must be singular: elke fan roept
alle fans = all fans (plural)
- Verb must be plural: alle fans roepen

So:

Elke fan roept luid... – Every fan shouts loudly... (generalizing about individuals)
Alle fans roepen luid... – All the fans shout loudly... (focusing on the group)

The sentence is choosing the “each individual” perspective with elke fan.

Why is it "roept" and not some continuous form like “is shouting”? Does Dutch have a present continuous tense?

Dutch normally uses one present tense for both simple and continuous meanings:

Elke fan roept luid...
- can mean: Every fan shouts loudly...
- or: Every fan is shouting loudly... (right now)

Dutch does not have a systematic present continuous tense like English (is shouting / are shouting) formed with to be + -ing. You can sometimes use constructions like:

Elke fan is aan het roepen.

But that sounds more marked or specific and is not as commonly used as the English continuous. For most purposes, the simple present roept is enough to translate either “shouts” or “is shouting” depending on context.

Why is it "luid" after the verb? Could I say "luid roept" instead of "roept luid"?

Luid is an adverb here, meaning “loudly”.

Word order:

In neutral sentences, adverbs like luid usually come after the verb:
- Elke fan roept luid.
You can sometimes move luid before the verb for emphasis or in poetry, but:
- Elke fan luid roept... sounds unusual in normal speech.

You can move it a bit earlier:

Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd roept elke fan luid voor zijn of haar kampioen. (neutral)
Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd roept elke fan heel luid voor zijn of haar kampioen. (adds emphasis)

Other common words instead of luid:

hard – often used in speech: roept hard = shouts loudly
luidkeels – “at the top of their lungs”: roept luidkeels

Why is it "voor zijn of haar kampioen"? Could I just say "voor hun kampioen" for “for their champion”?

Grammar vs. actual usage:

Standard (prescriptive) Dutch
- elke fan is singular.
- The normal possessive pronoun is then also singular:
  - zijn kampioen (if the fan is male)
  - haar kampioen (if the fan is female)
- To include both, formal written Dutch often uses:
  - zijn of haar kampioen
So the sentence follows prescriptive rules: singular subject → singular possessive.
Colloquial / spoken Dutch
In real speech, many people use hun as a gender‑neutral singular possessive, similar to English singular “their”:
- Tijdens de laatste wedstrijd roept elke fan luid voor hun kampioen.
This is very common in spoken Dutch, but many style guides and teachers still label this as incorrect or at least non-standard when the subject is clearly singular.

So:

Correct and formal:
roept elke fan luid voor zijn of haar kampioen.
Common in speech, but not always accepted in writing:
roept elke fan luid voor hun kampioen.

What does "kampioen" refer to here? Is it a person, a team, or something else?

Kampioen means champion, and it can refer to:

a person who is champion
a team or club that is champion

In this sentence:

zijn of haar kampioen = his or her champion
- typically: the person or team that the fan supports, who either is the champion or whom they want to become champion.

The phrase doesn’t itself specify whether it’s a player or a team; context would clarify that:

zijn of haar favoriete kampioen – their favourite champion (person or team)
zijn of haar favoriete team – their favourite team

Why is it "voor" in "voor zijn of haar kampioen"? Could I say "naar" or another preposition?

In Dutch, when you cheer or shout in support of someone, the usual preposition is voor:

juichen voor iemand – to cheer for someone
schreeuwen voor iemand – to scream for someone
zingen voor hun team – to sing for their team

So roept ... voor zijn of haar kampioen follows that same pattern: shouting for their champion.

Other prepositions:

naar = “to / towards” (direction), not used for “cheer for”
- ✗ roept naar zijn kampioen – would mean something like “shouts to his champion” (addressing them), not “supports them”.
tegen = “against”
- schreeuwen tegen iemand – to shout at someone (hostile or just loudly addressing)

So voor is the correct preposition for expressing support in this context.