Breakdown of Die stoel staat naast dat raam.
de stoel
the chair
dat
that (het-words)
het raam
the window
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
staan
to stand
naast
next to
Questions & Answers about Die stoel staat naast dat raam.
Why do we use die for the chair but dat for the window if they both mean "that"?
This is because of the word's gender. Stoel (chair) is a de-word (de stoel), so we use die to say "that chair". Raam (window) is a het-word (het raam), so we use dat to say "that window".
Why does the sentence use staat (stands) instead of just saying the chair "is" next to the window?
In Dutch, it is much more natural to use positional verbs to describe where something is located. Because a chair rests on legs and is upright, we say it "stands" (staat). Using is wouldn't be completely wrong, but it sounds unnatural to a Dutch speaker.
Does naast translate exactly to "next to"?
Yes, naast means "next to" or "beside". Notice that you do not need to add an extra word for "to" in Dutch; the single word naast covers the entire meaning of "next to".
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