Inversie
Dutch keeps the verb in position 2 no matter what comes first. When a time expression, place, or adverb starts the sentence, the subject and verb swap — this is called inversie.
In a Dutch main clause the finite verb is always the second "chunk". When anything other than the subject starts the sentence, the subject moves to position 3 and the verb stays in position 2.
Practice: Complete the inversion: "Morgen ___ ik laat." (komen)
kom — Morgen (pos 1) → verb (pos 2) → ik (pos 3). komen → ik kom.
Practice: Complete: "Vanavond ___ we eten." (gaan)
gaan — Vanavond (pos 1) → gaan (pos 2) → we (pos 3): Vanavond gaan we eten.
Any of these can move to position 1 and trigger inversion. The rule is the same for all of them.
Practice: Reorder: "ik / op vrijdag / werk" — start with "Op vrijdag"
Op vrijdag werk ik. — Op vrijdag werk ik. Time adverb first → verb in pos 2 → subject last.
Practice: Complete: "Woensdag ___ ik jarig." (zijn)
ben — zijn → ik ben. Inversion: Woensdag ben ik jarig.
Practice Word Order II Quiz with inversion cards
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