Tegen de tijd dat wij gaan slapen, zal ik de kleren al hebben opgeborgen.

It means by the time that.

So Tegen de tijd dat wij gaan slapen means By the time we go to sleep.

Literally, tegen often means toward or by, but in this expression you should learn tegen de tijd dat as a fixed phrase meaning by the time that.

Because Dutch usually uses the present tense for future events when the time is already clear from the context.

Here, tegen de tijd dat already tells you this is about the future, so wij gaan slapen is the normal choice.

This is similar to English, where you say:

• By the time we go to sleep...

not usually:

• By the time we will go to sleep...

After time expressions like als, wanneer, zodra, tegen de tijd dat, Dutch normally does not use zullen.

This is the future perfect.

It is built like this:

• zullen in the present tense: zal
• plus hebben
• plus a past participle: opgeborgen

So:

• zal ... hebben opgeborgen = will have put away

It describes something that will already be completed before a point in the future.

Because Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

The first part of the sentence, Tegen de tijd dat wij gaan slapen, takes the first position. After that, the finite verb of the main clause must come next, so you get:

• Tegen de tijd dat wij gaan slapen, zal ik ...

If there were no opening time clause, you would say:

• Ik zal de kleren al hebben opgeborgen.

So zal ik is caused by Dutch word order, not by a change in meaning.

Because Dutch often splits verb parts across the sentence.

In this clause:

• zal is the finite verb
• hebben opgeborgen is the rest of the verbal cluster

In a main clause, the finite verb usually comes near the beginning, while the other verb forms go toward the end.

So Dutch says:

• zal ik de kleren al hebben opgeborgen

where English keeps the verb group together more neatly:

• I will already have put away the clothes

Yes, the verb is opbergen, meaning to put away, to store, or to tidy away.

This is a separable verb:

• infinitive: opbergen
• present tense main clause: ik berg op
• past participle: opgeborgen

So in the participle, the prefix op- joins back onto the verb, and ge is inserted:

• op + ge + borgen → opgeborgen

That is why you see opgeborgen as one word here.

Al means already here.

It emphasizes that the action will be completed before that future moment:

• zal ik de kleren hebben opgeborgen = I will have put away the clothes
• zal ik de kleren al hebben opgeborgen = I will already have put away the clothes

So al adds the idea of by then already.

Both wij and we mean we.

The difference is mainly style and stress:

• we = more common in everyday speech
• wij = fuller form, often more formal, careful, or emphasized

So this sentence could also be:

• Tegen de tijd dat we gaan slapen, zal ik de kleren al hebben opgeborgen.

That would sound very natural too.

Literally, it means the clothes.

In context, it could refer to:

• some specific clothes
• clothes that were lying around
• laundry that has been folded and put away

Dutch kleren is a common everyday word for clothes. It is plural, so de is the plural article here.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• the clothes
• the laundry
• the things/clothes

But the literal meaning is simply the clothes.

Sometimes yes, especially in informal Dutch when the future meaning is obvious from context.

For example, you may hear something like:

• Tegen de tijd dat we gaan slapen, heb ik de kleren al opgeborgen.

Because tegen de tijd dat already points to the future, speakers sometimes use a present or perfect form more loosely.

However, zal ik ... hebben opgeborgen is the clearest and most explicit way to say I will have put away. It matches the idea of completion before a future moment very precisely.

Sometimes, but not always.

Opbergen specifically means put away, store, or put in its proper place.

So if you put clothes back into a drawer or closet, opbergen is a very good verb.

Clean up can be broader. For that, Dutch often uses verbs like:

• opruimen = tidy up / clean up
• schoonmaken = clean

So here opbergen suggests the clothes are being put away, not necessarily that the whole room is being cleaned.