Breakdown of De student leest een boek in de kamer.
een
a/an
de student
the student
het boek
the book
lezen
to read
in
in
de kamer
the room
Questions & Answers about De student leest een boek in de kamer.
Why is it spelled leest with a double 'e' and an 's', when the full verb is lezen?
To find the stem of lezen (to read), we remove -en, leaving 'lez'. Dutch words cannot end in 'z', so it changes to an 's'. Also, the 'e' in lezen is a long vowel. To keep that long sound when the word ends in a consonant, we must double the vowel to lees. Finally, because the subject (De student) acts as 'he' or 'she', we add the -t ending for this lesson's rule to get leest.
Can leest also mean 'is reading'?
Yes! Dutch doesn't have a separate 'is doing' tense the way English does. De student leest translates to both 'The student reads' and 'The student is reading'.
Is boek a de word or a het word, and why does it use een here?
Book is a het word (het boek), while room is a de word (de kamer). However, the word for 'a' or 'an' is always een in Dutch, regardless of whether the noun goes with de or het.
Is there a specific reason why een boek comes before in de kamer?
Yes, standard Dutch word order usually places the direct object (een boek) before the location (in de kamer). In a simple sentence like this, putting the place at the end is the most natural choice.
Learn De student leest een boek in de kamer and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free