Breakdown of We eten vier stukjes kaas.
eten
to eat
vier
four
de kaas
the cheese
het stuk
the piece
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
Questions & Answers about We eten vier stukjes kaas.
How do we form the plural diminutive stukjes?
The base word is stuk (piece). First, we add the suffix -je to make the diminutive stukje (little piece). To make any diminutive plural, you always just add an -s at the end. That gives us stukjes.
Why do we use the diminutive (stukjes) here instead of the normal plural (stukken)?
While stukken means "pieces", Dutch speakers almost always use the diminutive form (stukje or stukjes) when talking about portions of food, like cheese, cake, or meat. It sounds more natural and cozy, even if the pieces aren't actually that small!
Why is there no Dutch word for "of" in stukjes kaas?
In English, we say "pieces of cheese". But in Dutch, when you talk about a quantity, amount, or container of something, you don't use the word van (of). You just put the two nouns right next to each other: stukjes (pieces) + kaas (cheese).
Does eten mean "eat" or "are eating"?
It means both! Dutch does not have a separate continuous tense (the "-ing" form) like English does for things happening right now. We eten translates to both "We eat" and "We are eating", depending on what makes sense in the context.
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