Breakdown of Dat schilderij hangt daar.
daar
there
dat
that (het-words)
het schilderij
the painting
hangen
to hang
Questions & Answers about Dat schilderij hangt daar.
Why do we use dat here instead of die?
Schilderij (painting) is a het word (het schilderij). When you want to say 'that' specific thing, you use dat for het words and die for de words.
Both dat and daar seem to point at things. What is the difference?
Dat means 'that' and points to a specific noun (dat schilderij = that painting). Daar means 'there' and points to a location (where the painting is hanging).
Why does the English translation say 'is hanging' when the Dutch verb is just hangt?
Dutch does not have an exact equivalent to the English '-ing' form. The present tense verb hangt can translate to either 'hangs' or 'is hanging', depending on what sounds best in English.
How do I pronounce the -ij at the end of schilderij?
The Dutch ij sound is a bit unique, but it sounds very similar to the English word 'eye' or the vowel sound in 'buy'.