{"id":7357,"date":"2021-06-18T14:33:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T14:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7357"},"modified":"2021-06-18T14:33:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T14:33:58","slug":"why-the-dutch-sit-on-and-behind-computers-prepositions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/why-the-dutch-sit-on-and-behind-computers-prepositions\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Dutch sit on and behind computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yep. You read that right. The Dutch sit on their computers. And behind them. But in front of them? Sometimes. What\u2019s going on? Little hint: It\u2019s prepositions. Weak hint, sorry… But let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n

Sitting behind or in front of the computer?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"sitting<\/a>

You wanna hop on? (Photo by Tanner Van Dera<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s the linguistic mystery. Some Dutch say:<\/p>\n

Ik zit op de computer\u00a0<\/em>(I sit on the computer).<\/p>\n

However, you more commonly hear:<\/p>\n

Ik zit achter de computer\u00a0<\/em>(I sit behind the computer).<\/p>\n

Still weird. Why don\u2019t they sit\u00a0voor de computer<\/em>? Some people say that too, I\u2019m sure, but you\u2019ll mostly hear one of the above,\u00a0op\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0achter<\/em>. On the other hand, we do say:<\/p>\n

Ik zit voor de tv\u00a0<\/em>(I sit in front of the TV).<\/p>\n

Sitting\u00a0achter\u00a0<\/em>the TV would be really sitting behind it!<\/p>\n

So what happened here? Have the Dutch simply not figured out how to use\u00a0voorzetsels\u00a0<\/em>(prepositions)<\/a>? It\u2019s more interesting than you may think.<\/p>\n

OnzeTaal<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>explains it as follows: You use\u00a0achter\u00a0<\/em>(behind) when you\u2019re\u00a0actief bezig met\u00a0<\/em>(actively using) the object.\u00a0Voor\u00a0<\/em>(in front of) when you\u2019re\u00a0alleen maar kijken naar\u00a0<\/em>(only looking at) the object.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s expressed like this:<\/p>\n

Ik zit achter het stuur, en rijd de auto\u00a0<\/em>(I sit behind the wheel, and drive the car – look, English does it too sometimes!)<\/p>\n

Ik zit achter het bureau\u00a0<\/em>(I sit at the office – \u201cat\u201d takes its form many times in English, it seems.)<\/p>\n

Ik zit achter de toetsen\u00a0<\/em>(I sit at the keys).<\/p>\n

And of course:\u00a0Ik zit achter de computer\u00a0<\/em>(I am at the computer).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, English does some weird things too. While the Dutch sit on and behind their computers, English speakers\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>on them: I am on my phone, I am on my computer, I am on my laptop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s stuff the Dutch sit in front of:<\/p>\n

Ik zit voor de open haard\u00a0<\/em>(I am sitting in front of\/at the fireplace)<\/p>\n

Ik zit voor de spiegel\u00a0<\/em>(I am sitting in front of the mirror)<\/p>\n

We zitten voor de<\/em>\u00a0tv\u00a0<\/em>(We sit in front of the tv)<\/p>\n

So stuff that we passively interact with. In a way, like OnzeTaal<\/em> describes, it really just means that\u00a0met het gezicht gekeerd naar\u00a0<\/em>(with your face turned towards). So really, just looking!<\/p>\n

What this means is that you\u00a0can<\/em>, of course, also sit\u00a0voor de computer\u00a0<\/em>– then you are passively looking at the computer.<\/p>\n

And in general, of course,\u00a0voor de computer<\/em>,\u00a0achter de computer<\/em> etcetera also still keep their literal meaning. So\u00a0er is een toetsenbord voor de computer\u00a0<\/em>(there is a keyboard in front of the computer) and\u00a0er zit veel stof achter de computer\u00a0<\/em>(there is a lot of dust behind the computer) work in their own way.<\/p>\n

So what about\u00a0op de computer zitten<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Op de computer zitten<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n
\"weird<\/a>

Photo by Studio Republic<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

According to Taaladvies<\/em><\/a>, voor,\u00a0<\/em>achter, aan\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0op de computer zitten\u00a0<\/em>are all correct. Whew.<\/p>\n

Ik zit op de computer\u00a0<\/em>is really quite informal. Saying\u00a0ik zit aan de toetsen\u00a0<\/em>(I sit at the keys) works too, and so the English\u00a0\u201cat\u201d and the Dutch translation\u00a0aan\u00a0<\/em>can also be used!<\/p>\n

Why do we say\u00a0op de computer zitten<\/em>? I couldn\u2019t find a satisfying answer. But if I had to guess, I\u2019d say that it is related to the expression\u00a0er bovenop zitten<\/em> (sitting on top of it\/being on top of it). A perfectly translatable expression!<\/p>\n

Ik zit er bovenop!\u00a0<\/em>(I am on top of it!) means that you\u2019re busy getting something done – just like you would when being busy with something on a computer or other device. Perhaps this expression moved its preposition from the mere activity to the device on which the activity is performed!<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just my guess. What do you think? How are these things said in your language? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"weird

Yep. You read that right. The Dutch sit on their computers. And behind them. But in front of them? Sometimes. What\u2019s going on? Little hint: It\u2019s prepositions. Weak hint, sorry… But let\u2019s dive in! Sitting behind or in front of the computer? Here\u2019s the linguistic mystery. Some Dutch say: Ik zit op de computer\u00a0(I sit…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":7363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3590,27711],"tags":[125],"class_list":["post-7357","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dutch-language","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","tag-prepositions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t