Breakdown of Eten de meisjes altijd koekjes?
het meisje
the girl
eten
to eat
altijd
always
het koekje
the cookie
Questions & Answers about Eten de meisjes altijd koekjes?
Why do meisjes and koekjes form their plurals with an -s instead of -en?
Both of these words are diminutives, meaning they end in -je. In Dutch, all diminutive words form their plural by simply adding an -s.
I thought words ending in -je get the article het. Why does it say de meisjes?
You are right that a single girl is het meisje. However, in Dutch, every plural noun gets the article de, no matter what it was in the singular.
Why isn't there a translation for the word "do" in this Dutch sentence?
Dutch does not use helper words like "do" or "does" to ask questions. Instead, it just swaps the verb and the subject. So instead of saying "Do the girls eat...?", Dutch says Eten de meisjes...? (literally: Eat the girls...?).
Why does altijd go in the middle of the sentence?
In a Dutch yes/no question, the verb must come first (Eten), and the subject typically comes right after it (de meisjes). Adverbs like altijd (always) usually sit directly after that subject.