Question 1

Why do we use geen instead of niet here?

Accepted Answer

In Dutch, when you negate a noun that would normally use een (a/an), you must use geen instead of niet. Since the positive sentence is We hebben een kaartje (We have a ticket), the negative automatically becomes We hebben geen kaartje.

Question 2

The English translation says "don't have a ticket". Why is there no word for "a" in the Dutch sentence?

Accepted Answer

The word geen basically means "not a" or "no". You cannot say geen een in Dutch. Therefore, "not a ticket" translates simply to geen kaartje.

Question 3

Why does the sentence use kaartje instead of kaart?

Accepted Answer

Kaartje is the diminutive (small) form of kaart (which means card or map). In Dutch, tickets for public transport, movies, or concerts are almost always called a kaartje rather than a regular kaart.

Question 4

Since this lesson is about welke and welk, which one would I use to ask "Which ticket?"

Accepted Answer

You would use welk kaartje?. All Dutch diminutives (words ending in -je) are automatically het words. Because it is a het word, you must use welk. The word welke is used for de words and all plural words.

We hebben geen kaartje.

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