Questions & Answers about Waar zijn de dieren?
What is the singular form of dieren, and how is the plural made?
The singular word for "animal" is dier. To make it plural, we just add the regular -en ending to the word, making it dieren.
The singular form is het dier, so why does this sentence use de?
In Dutch, all plural nouns use the article de for "the". Even though "animal" is a het word in the singular (het dier), it automatically becomes de when it is plural (de dieren).
Why is the verb zijn used here instead of is?
Zijn is the form of the verb "to be" used for all plural subjects. Since de dieren (the animals) is a plural subject, we use zijn to mean "are".
Do I pronounce the final -n in dieren?
In spoken Dutch, the final -n in the -en ending is usually dropped or pronounced very softly. You will often hear Dutch speakers say something that sounds more like diere.
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