Basic place and time questions | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Waar is het?

   Where is it?

   Waar

   where

   is

   is

   het

   it

   More detail

   Waar means “where” and asks about a location. It is a question word, not a form that changes for the person or thing being located. Example: Waar ben je? means “Where are you?” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject. The form changes with the subject: ik ben = “I am,” je bent = “you are,” and hij/zij/het is = “he/she/it is.” Here, is links the question word to the thing whose location is being asked about. het means “it” here. In this use it is a third-person singular pronoun; its specific referent is not identified in the fixed sentence. Het can also be the definite article “the” before a singular neuter noun, but that is not its role here. Together, Waar is het? asks for the location of the unspecified singular thing referred to by het: “Where is it?”

2. Waar ben je?

   Where are you?

   Waar

   where

   ben

   are / am

   je

   you

   More detail

   Waar asks about a place or location. It is the Dutch question word “where,” as in Waar is het? (“Where is it?”). Do not confuse it with wat, which asks “what,” as in Wat is hier gebeurd? (“What happened here?”). ben is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with ik: ik ben (“I am”). In this question, it appears before the subject because Dutch places the finite verb before the subject in a direct question. Compare je bent (“you are”) in a statement with ben je...? (“are you...?”) in a question. With je after the verb, the usual -t of je bent is absent: Ben je thuis? means “Are you at home?” je is the unstressed subject pronoun meaning “you.” In this sentence, the exact number of the addressee is not specified by the form; je can refer to one person or, depending on context, more than one person. Here it is the subject of ben. Together, Waar + the inverted verb-subject sequence ben je forms a location question: Waar ben je? means “Where are you?” It asks for the addressee’s location in the present, without adding any further detail about that location.

3. Wat is hier gebeurd?

   What happened here?

   Wat

   what

   is

   is

   hier

   here

   gebeurd

   happened

   More detail

   Wat means “what” here. It is an interrogative pronoun asking about an unspecified event or situation. Compare Wie? (“Who?”), which asks about a person. is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”). Here it functions as an auxiliary, not as the main meaning “is”: Dutch uses zijn with gebeuren in the perfect construction. In this question, Wat comes first as the interrogative element, followed by the finite verb is; there is no separate subject after is because Wat is the subject of gebeurd. hier means “here”, referring to the location relevant in the situation. It is a location adverb; its opposite is daar (“there”). Example: Wat gebeurt hier? — “What is happening here?” gebeurd is the past participle of gebeuren (“to happen”). The form gebeuren is the base form; gebeurd is used with an auxiliary to describe a completed event. The ending is part of this participle form, not an inflection of hier or wat. Together, is gebeurd forms the Dutch perfect construction for “has happened” or, in this question’s natural English translation, “happened.” Thus Wat is hier gebeurd? means “What happened here?”

4. Hoe laat is het?

   What time is it?

   Hoe laat

   what time

   is

   is

   het

   it

   More detail

   Hoe laat is the fixed Dutch question expression for asking about the time. It is best learned as a unit rather than translated word by word. Hoe means “how” in many questions, while laat can mean “late” in other contexts, but together here they mean “what time.” For example: Hoe laat begint de film? — “What time does the film start?” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with a third-person singular subject. In a Dutch question, the finite verb commonly comes before the subject: is het, rather than statement order het is. The form is is not the past form; the past singular form is was. het is the Dutch neuter singular pronoun corresponding here to “it.” In this time expression, it functions as the subject of is; the sentence does not identify a separate concrete object that “it” refers to. Dutch also uses het in other neuter singular roles, so its exact reference or function must be learned from the construction and context. Together, Hoe laat + is + het forms the reusable question Hoe laat is het? — “What time is it?” The question expression comes first, followed by the finite verb and then the subject, producing the intended request for the current time.

5. Wanneer kom je?

   When will you come?

   Wanneer

   when

   kom

   come

   je

   you

   More detail

   Wanneer asks about time: “when”. It is a question adverb and can be reused in questions such as Wanneer vertrek je? (“When are you leaving?”). It does not itself express future time. kom means “come” here. Its base form is komen; kom is also the form used with ik (“I come”) and in the inverted second-person singular pattern kom je? (“are you coming?”). In ordinary subject–verb order, second-person singular is je komt, but after the verb–subject inversion used in this question, the -t is absent: Kom je morgen? means “Are you coming tomorrow?” Dutch present-tense forms can refer to a planned or expected future event, so no separate future auxiliary is present here. je is the informal singular subject pronoun “you”. In this sentence it is the subject of kom; its specific referent is not identified beyond the addressee. Together, Wanneer + kom + je forms the question “When will you come?” More literally, it asks “When come you?”, with Dutch question-word order placing the finite verb before the subject. The present form kom is understood as future from the question’s intended time reference.

6. Waarom ben je te laat?

   Why are you late?

   Waarom

   why

   ben je

   are you

   te laat

   late

   More detail

   Waarom asks for a reason: “why?”. It is a question adverb used to ask about the cause of an action or situation. Example: Waarom lach je? — “Why are you laughing?” ben je combines ben, the present-tense first-person singular form of zijn (“to be”), with je, the informal singular subject pronoun “you”. In this question, the finite verb comes before the subject, as is normal in a Dutch main-clause question: Ben je ...? means “Are you ...?” With je as the subject in ordinary statement order, the forms are je bent; inversion produces ben je. te laat is the Dutch expression used here for being late, as shown by the fixed translation. laat is the adjective “late”; in te laat, the full expression supplies the meaning of being late in this utterance. In other contexts, te laat can also mean “too late”, so the surrounding meaning matters. The comparison forms of laat are later (“later”) and laatst (“latest” or “last”, depending on use). Example: Ik kom later. — “I’ll come later.” Together, Waarom asks for the reason, ben je forms the inverted “are you” question, and te laat describes the state being asked about. The whole utterance means “Why are you late?”