Gisteravond zat ik tien minuten naar de regen te staren voordat ik ging slapen.

Dutch is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses. That means the finite verb must come in the second position.

• Gisteravond is placed first for emphasis or because it sets the scene.
• Since Gisteravond takes the first slot, the verb zat must come next.
• The subject ik comes after the verb.

So:

• Ik zat gisteravond... = I was sitting last night...
• Gisteravond zat ik... = Last night I was sitting...

Both are correct, but the word order changes because of the V2 rule.

Yes, gisteravond is normally written as one word and means yesterday evening or last night, depending on context.

It is made up of:

• gister = yesterday
• avond = evening

In natural English, last night is often the best translation, even though Dutch literally says yesterday evening.

This is a very common Dutch construction:

• zitten + te + infinitive
• literally: to sit and be doing something
• often used to describe an ongoing action while sitting

So:

• ik zat te staren = I was staring / I sat staring

Dutch often uses posture verbs like these:

• zitten te ... = be doing something while sitting
• staan te ... = be doing something while standing
• liggen te ... = be doing something while lying down
• lopen te ... = be walking around doing something

Here, zat te staren suggests not just the action of staring, but also the physical posture and the ongoing nature of it.

Yes, you could, but the meaning and feel are slightly different.

• Ik staarde tien minuten naar de regen.
  = I stared at the rain for ten minutes.
• Ik zat tien minuten naar de regen te staren.
  = I was sitting there staring at the rain for ten minutes.

The version with zat ... te staren feels more vivid and descriptive. It paints a little scene. The simple past staarde is more neutral and direct.

The verb staren normally goes with naar when you say what someone is staring at.

• staren naar iets = to stare at something

Examples:

• naar de lucht staren = stare at the sky
• naar het scherm staren = stare at the screen
• naar de regen staren = stare at the rain

English uses at, while Dutch uses naar here.

Both can exist in Dutch, but naar de regen staren sounds very natural when referring to the rain you can see outside.

• de regen = the rain, the visible rain happening there
• regen without an article is more general or abstract in many contexts

So naar de regen staren suggests a specific, observable scene: the speaker is looking at the rain outside.

In Dutch, durations are often expressed directly, without a preposition.

• Ik wachtte tien minuten. = I waited ten minutes.
• Hij sliep twee uur. = He slept for two hours.
• Ik zat tien minuten naar de regen te staren. = I sat staring at the rain for ten minutes.

English often uses for, but Dutch usually does not in this kind of sentence.

Yes. Tien minuten lang is also correct.

Compare:

• Ik zat tien minuten naar de regen te staren.
• Ik zat tien minuten lang naar de regen te staren.

The version with lang puts a bit more emphasis on the duration. In many cases, both are fine.

Ging slapen means went to sleep or went to bed to sleep / started sleeping. It focuses on the transition into sleep.

• voordat ik ging slapen = before I went to sleep

If you said voordat ik sliep, that would sound more like before I was asleep, which is less natural in this context.

Dutch often uses:

• gaan slapen = go to sleep
• gaan eten = go eat
• gaan werken = go work / go to work

So voordat ik ging slapen is the natural choice here.

Because voordat introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb typically moves toward the end.

Main clause:

• Ik ging slapen.

Subordinate clause:

• voordat ik ging slapen

That is standard Dutch word order:

• Gisteravond zat ik tien minuten naar de regen te staren
• voordat ik ging slapen

So the word order changes because of voordat.

Because the sentence describes two past actions:

1. zat ... te staren = the main action in the past
2. ging slapen = another past action that happened after that

Dutch uses the simple past here very naturally for both:

• zat = was sitting / sat
• ging = went

The structure shows sequence:

• first: staring at the rain
• then: going to sleep

Yes, staren is the infinitive, and te is a particle often used before an infinitive in certain constructions.

In zitten te staren, the pattern is:

• conjugated verb: zat
• te
• infinitive: staren

This is similar to other Dutch combinations:

• beginnen te lachen = begin to laugh
• proberen te helpen = try to help
• zitten te lezen = sit reading / be sitting and reading

So te is required by this construction.

Yes, it sounds very natural. It is slightly descriptive and a bit atmospheric, but completely normal Dutch.

It has a reflective, visual feel because of:

• gisteravond setting the scene
• zat ... te staren describing an ongoing action
• naar de regen creating a concrete image

So it is the kind of sentence a native speaker might easily say in conversation or writing.