Breakdown of Die tafels staan daar.
daar
there
de tafel
the table
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
staan
to stand
Questions & Answers about Die tafels staan daar.
Why do we use die here to mean "those"?
Die is the demonstrative pronoun used for all plural nouns to mean "those". Even if a word uses het in the singular, its plural form always acts like a de-word. This means you will always use die to point to plural objects at a distance.
Why does the sentence say the tables staan (stand) instead of just saying they "are" there?
Dutch speakers strongly prefer to describe the exact physical position of an object rather than just using the verb zijn (to be). Because tables rest upright on legs, they staan (stand). You will see these positional verbs very often when talking about where everyday objects are located.
Why is the plural of tafel made with an -s instead of -en?
Is there a connection between the words die (those) and daar (there)?
Yes! Both die and daar are used to point to things that are further away from the speaker. If the tables were right next to you, you would instead use words for things that are close: deze (these) and hier (here).
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