Learn Hardcore Dutch: Tom speelt ’s avonds soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer. - Tom sometimes plays too long on his game console in the evening.

The ’s is a shortened form of des, from old-fashioned Dutch des avonds (a genitive form meaning of the evening). In modern Dutch, people almost never say des avonds anymore, but the shortened forms are very common:

’s morgens – in the mornings
’s middags – in the afternoons
’s avonds – in the evenings
’s nachts – at night

So ’s avonds is a fixed expression that functions like a time adverbial, similar to “in the evening” in English.

The apostrophe is part of the spelling; you should always write it as ’s avonds, not just s avonds.

Why is the verb speelt in second position after Tom?

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb-second):

The finite verb (here: speelt) must be in second position in the sentence.
Only one chunk (word or phrase) can come before it.

In your sentence:

Tom = first element (subject)
speelt = finite verb in second position
then the rest: ’s avonds soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer

If you move a different element to the front, the verb still stays second, and the subject moves behind it:

’s avonds speelt Tom soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer.
(In the evening, Tom sometimes plays too long on his game console.)

So the position of speelt comes from this verb-second rule, not from English-style SVO word order.

Can I change the word order of ’s avonds and soms? For example: Tom speelt soms ’s avonds te lang op zijn spelcomputer?

Yes, that is possible, and it is grammatically correct:

Tom speelt soms ’s avonds te lang op zijn spelcomputer.

The difference is very subtle and mostly about rhythm and focus:

Tom speelt ’s avonds soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer.
Slightly more neutral, might feel like you’re first setting when (in the evenings), then how often (sometimes).
Tom speelt soms ’s avonds te lang op zijn spelcomputer.
Can sound a bit more like you first say sometimes in general, and then specify that these times are in the evening.

In everyday conversation, both orders are used, and many speakers won’t feel a big difference. Your original order (’s avonds soms) is very natural.

Why is it te lang and not just lang? What does te do here?

te before an adjective or adverb in Dutch usually means “too” in the sense of excess:

lang = long (for a long time)
te lang = too long (longer than is good / than is acceptable)

Other examples:

te groot – too big
te snel – too fast
te duur – too expensive
Hij praat te veel. – He talks too much.

So Tom speelt … te lang op zijn spelcomputer means his playing time is longer than it should be, not just “for a long time”.

What does soms mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

soms means “sometimes”.

In main clauses, soms is quite flexible. You’ll often see it:

After the verb:
Tom speelt soms ’s avonds te lang op zijn spelcomputer.
After a time expression:
Tom speelt ’s avonds soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer.
At the very beginning (then the verb comes second):
Soms speelt Tom ’s avonds te lang op zijn spelcomputer.

All of these are natural. The choice affects rhythm and a little bit of emphasis, but not the basic meaning.

Why is it op zijn spelcomputer and not met or aan his console?

In Dutch, with devices like computers, phones, and consoles, the usual preposition is op:

op de computer – on the computer
op mijn telefoon – on my phone
op zijn spelcomputer – on his game console

So where English often says “play on his console” or “play video games”, Dutch naturally says:

op zijn spelcomputer spelen – literally “to play on his game computer.”

Using met (“with”) here would sound odd in Dutch for this meaning.

What exactly is a spelcomputer? Is it the same as a game console?

Yes, spelcomputer is a common Dutch word for what English calls a game console (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, etc.).

A few notes:

spel = game
computer = computer
→ spel + computer → spelcomputer (one word in Dutch)

Other Dutch options you might see:

gameconsole – borrowed from English, also common
console – especially in informal speech

But spelcomputer is perfectly normal and clear.

Why is it zijn spelcomputer and not de spelcomputer?

zijn is the possessive pronoun meaning “his” (or sometimes “its”):

zijn spelcomputer = his game console

Using de spelcomputer would mean “the game console” in a more general or specific-but-not-possessed way:

Tom speelt te lang op de spelcomputer.
→ Could mean on the console (maybe one in the living room), but it doesn’t explicitly say it’s his.

The original sentence wants to express that it’s Tom’s own console, so Dutch uses zijn.

Why is it speelt and not speel? How is spelen conjugated?

The infinitive is spelen (“to play”).

In the present tense:

ik speel – I play
jij / je speelt – you play (singular, informal)
hij / zij / het speelt – he / she / it plays
wij / we spelen – we play
jullie spelen – you (plural) play
zij / ze spelen – they play

Because Tom is third person singular (like hij), you need:

Tom speelt … – Tom plays …

So speelt is the correct form.

Is there any special rule about writing spelcomputer as one word?

Yes. In Dutch, compound nouns are almost always written as a single word, not separated by spaces:

spel
- computer → spelcomputer
tafel
- blad → tafelblad
huis
- deur → huisdeur

Writing it as spel computer would be incorrect in standard Dutch. So remember: one concept = one word is a good rule of thumb for Dutch compounds.

Could the sentence also be Tom speelt soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer ’s avonds?

This version is grammatically possible, but it sounds less natural.

Dutch has a fairly strong preference for a Time–Manner–Place-like order (very roughly):

[time] [frequency / manner] [degree] [place / instrument]

In your original:

’s avonds (time)
soms (frequency)
te lang (degree/duration)
op zijn spelcomputer (place/instrument)

Putting ’s avonds at the very end (… op zijn spelcomputer ’s avonds) is not wrong, but it’s less idiomatic and can sound a bit clumsy in this short sentence. The original order is more natural:

Tom speelt ’s avonds soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer.

How would the sentence change if I start with ’s avonds?

If you start with ’s avonds, the finite verb still has to be in second position, so speelt comes next and Tom moves after it:

’s avonds speelt Tom soms te lang op zijn spelcomputer.

This is a perfectly natural alternative. It puts a bit more emphasis on the time frame (“In the evenings, Tom sometimes plays too long…”), but the meaning remains essentially the same.

How is ’s avonds pronounced, and does the ’s sound like a separate word?

Pronunciation (roughly in IPA):

’s avonds ≈ /s ˈaː.vɔnts/

Details:

The ’s is pronounced like an /s/ sound, directly attached to avonds; it doesn’t sound like a full separate word.
aav- is like a long a sound: aa as in Dutch maan.
The stress is on áa: ’s ÁAvonds.

In normal speech it flows together smoothly, almost like one word: savonds (but you still write ’s avonds).