Questions & Answers about Ik verkoop geen kaas.
Why do we use geen here instead of niet?
We use geen to negate a noun that doesn't have a specific word like 'the' or 'my' in front of it. In English, you say 'I do not sell cheese', but in Dutch, it is structured like 'I sell no cheese'. Since kaas (cheese) is a general noun here, we use geen.
Can I translate this literally as 'I sell no cheese'?
Yes! Thinking of geen as 'no' or 'not any' is a great trick for English speakers. 'I sell no cheese' perfectly captures how the Dutch sentence is built.
Why is the verb verkoop instead of verkoopt?
verkoop is the 'I' form of the verb verkopen (to sell). In Dutch, when the subject is ik (I), you use the basic stem of the verb without adding a -t at the end.
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