I can talk about my week — what I do today, tomorrow, in the morning, and in the evening — starting the sentence with a time word and putting the verb second.
Morgen werk ik: the verb second
Morgen werk ik: the verb second
When you talk about your week, you often start the sentence with a time word: tomorrow, in the evening, on Monday.
Whatever comes first, the conjugated verb comes second. So when a time word comes first, the subject moves behind the verb, unlike English “Tomorrow I work”. This is called inversion:
• Thijs werkt vandaag. → Vandaag werkt Thijs.
• Ik lees 's avonds. → 's Avonds lees ik.
After the verb, jij loses its -t, as in a question: Vandaag werk je. With u the -t stays: Vandaag werkt u.
Like English “I'm cooking tomorrow”, the present can talk about the future: Morgen kook ik.
Times of day: de ochtend → 's ochtends “in the morning”, 's middags “in the afternoon”, 's avonds “in the evening”, 's nachts “at night”. Write them with an apostrophe and a space; at the start of a sentence the capital goes on the second word: 's Ochtends. The word overdag means “during the day, while it's light” (recognition only). The word morgen means “tomorrow”, but de morgen means “morning”. The word dan means “then”: Dan lees ik. Elke dag means “every day”.
Common mistakes:
• ×Morgen ik werk → Morgen werk ik.
• ×Vandaag werkt jij → Vandaag werk jij.
• ×s'avonds → 's avonds.
Time word first: the verb second
After a time word, first the verb, then the subject.
| Position 1 | Verb | Subject | The rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nu | studeert | Anouk | in Leiden. |
| Op maandag | kookt | Sem | — |
| Elke dag | leest | Marieke | een boek. |
Times of day
An apostrophe and a space: 's ochtends. At the start of a sentence, the second word takes the capital.
| Time of day | When? | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| de ochtend | 's ochtends | in the morning |
| de middag | 's middags | in the afternoon |
| de avond | 's avonds | in the evening |
| de nacht | 's nachts | at night |
Lesson notes
Morgen werk ik: the verb second
When you talk about your week, you often start the sentence with a time word: tomorrow, in the evening, on Monday.
Whatever comes first, the conjugated verb comes second. So when a time word comes first, the subject moves behind the verb, unlike English “Tomorrow I work”. This is called inversion:
• Thijs werkt vandaag. → Vandaag werkt Thijs.
• Ik lees 's avonds. → 's Avonds lees ik.
After the verb, jij loses its -t, as in a question: Vandaag werk je. With u the -t stays: Vandaag werkt u.
Like English “I'm cooking tomorrow”, the present can talk about the future: Morgen kook ik.
Times of day: de ochtend → 's ochtends “in the morning”, 's middags “in the afternoon”, 's avonds “in the evening”, 's nachts “at night”. Write them with an apostrophe and a space; at the start of a sentence the capital goes on the second word: 's Ochtends. The word overdag means “during the day, while it's light” (recognition only). The word morgen means “tomorrow”, but de morgen means “morning”. The word dan means “then”: Dan lees ik. Elke dag means “every day”.
Common mistakes:
• ×Morgen ik werk → Morgen werk ik.
• ×Vandaag werkt jij → Vandaag werk jij.
• ×s'avonds → 's avonds.