Breakdown of De studenten lezen de menu's en bestellen cola's.
de student
the student
en
and
lezen
to read
bestellen
to order
het menu
the menu
de cola
the cola
Questions & Answers about De studenten lezen de menu's en bestellen cola's.
Why do menu's and cola's use an apostrophe?
In Dutch, if a noun ends in a single open vowel (like a, i, o, u, or y), just adding an -s would change the pronunciation and make the vowel sound short. To keep the vowel sound long, Dutch adds an apostrophe before the s. This is why menu becomes menu's and cola becomes cola's.
Why doesn't studenten get an -s for its plural too?
Most regular Dutch nouns are made plural by adding -en (like student turning into studenten). The -s ending is a different regular plural form, mostly used for nouns ending in certain vowels, words borrowed from other languages (like menu), and nouns ending in unstressed syllables like -el or -er.
I learned that the singular is het menu, so why does this sentence say de menu's?
You are right that it is het menu in the singular! However, whenever a noun becomes plural, its definite article ("the") always changes to de. In Dutch, all plural words use de, even if they are het words in the singular.
Why do the verbs lezen and bestellen both end in -en?
Both of these action words are connected to De studenten (The students), which is a plural subject. In Dutch, present tense verbs for plural subjects (we, you all, they) use the full dictionary form (the infinitive). This form almost always ends in -en.
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