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Voor de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.

Voor de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.
Before the online meeting the teacher tests his webcam and microphone.
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Questions & Answers about Voor de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.

Why does the sentence start with Voor de online vergadering instead of with De docent?

Dutch main clauses follow a verb‑second rule: the finite verb (here test) must be in second position.

  • Neutral order: De docent test zijn webcam en microfoon voor de online vergadering.
    (Subject first, verb second.)

  • When you move a time phrase like Voor de online vergadering to the front for emphasis, the verb still has to stay in second position, so the subject moves after the verb:
    Voor de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.

So both sentences are correct; the second just emphasizes when he tests them.

Why is it test de docent and not something like testet or testt de docent?

The verb is testen (to test). Its stem is test.

Present tense conjugation:

  • ik test
  • jij/u test
  • hij/zij/het test
  • wij/jullie/zij testen

For hij/zij/het you normally add -t to the stem, but here the stem already ends in t, so you don’t add another one. You just get test, not testt.

So de docent test is the correct 3rd person singular form.

What does voor mean here, and could it also mean for instead of before?

Voor is a flexible preposition that can mean both:

  • before (in time):

    • Voor de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam.
      → He tests it before the meeting starts.

  • in front of (in space):

    • De docent staat voor het bord.
      → The teacher stands in front of the board.

  • for (in the sense of intended for someone):

    • Dit cadeau is voor de docent.
      → This gift is for the teacher.

In your sentence it clearly has the time meaning: before the online meeting.

Why is it de online vergadering and not het online vergadering?

Every Dutch noun has a grammatical gender:

  • de-words (common gender)
  • het-words (neuter)

Vergadering is a de-word, so the correct article is de:

  • de vergadering (the meeting)
  • een vergadering (a meeting)

Adding an adjective does not change the article:

  • de online vergadering = the online meeting
  • de belangrijke vergadering = the important meeting

Using het online vergadering would be grammatically wrong.

Why is de docent used, and not het docent or some gendered form like docente?

Docent (teacher, instructor) is a de-word, so it takes de:

  • de docent = the teacher (common gender)

Regarding the person’s sex:

  • Traditionally, docent could be male or generic.
  • There is also docente for a female teacher, but in modern Dutch docent is often used for any gender, especially in neutral or general statements.

So de docent here can refer to a man, a woman, or just the teacher in general.

If the teacher might be female, why is it zijn webcam and not haar webcam?

Dutch often uses zijn (his) as a default generic possessive for a person whose gender is unknown or not specified, especially in textbook-style example sentences.

  • zijn webcam = his webcam (or generic their webcam in English)
  • haar webcam = her webcam

If you know the teacher is female, you would normally say:

  • Voor de online vergadering test de docente haar webcam en microfoon.

But if the gender is unknown, zijn is commonly used in practice, even though it is literally “his”.

Why is there no article before webcam and microfoon? Why not zijn de webcam en de microfoon?

In Dutch, when you use a possessive determiner (like mijn, jouw, zijn, haar, ons, hun), you do not also use de or het:

  • zijn webcam (his webcam), not zijn de webcam
  • mijn boek (my book), not mijn het boek

The possessive already plays the role of a determiner, so no extra article is used.

Why is zijn only written once in zijn webcam en microfoon? Should it be zijn webcam en zijn microfoon?

Both are grammatically correct:

  • zijn webcam en microfoon
  • zijn webcam en zijn microfoon

In Dutch, if the same possessive determiner applies to multiple nouns in a row, it is very natural to mention it only once:

  • zijn vader en moeder = his father and mother
  • mijn pen en potlood = my pen and pencil

Repeating zijn is possible but sounds a bit more formal or emphatic.

Is the adjective online treated like a normal Dutch adjective? Why is there no ending like online → onlines or online vergadering → online vergadering?

Online is a loanword from English and is usually used unchanged as an adjective in Dutch:

  • online vergadering (online meeting)
  • online les (online class)
  • online cursus (online course)

Adjectives in Dutch do normally get an extra -e in front of a definite noun:

  • een online vergadering
  • de online vergadering

But for adjectives that are also used as adverbs (and for many English loanwords), the form itself doesn’t change; online simply stays online. You do not say something like onlines.

Could you also say Tijdens de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon?

You can say that, but the meaning changes:

  • Voor de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.
    → He tests them before the meeting.

  • Tijdens de online vergadering test de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.
    → He tests them during the meeting.

So grammatically it is fine, but the time relation is different.

What is the basic word order if I don’t put the time expression at the beginning?

The neutral order would be:

  • De docent test zijn webcam en microfoon voor de online vergadering.

Structure:

  • Subject: De docent
  • Verb: test
  • Objects: zijn webcam en microfoon
  • Time phrase: voor de online vergadering

This is close to English word order. Moving voor de online vergadering to the front just changes emphasis, not the core meaning.

How would this sentence look in the past tense?

The verb testen is regular:

  • Stem: test
  • Past singular: testte
  • Past plural: testten
  • Past participle: getest

So:

  • Voor de online vergadering testte de docent zijn webcam en microfoon.
    = Before the online meeting, the teacher tested his webcam and microphone.

The word order stays the same; only the verb form changes.