Breakdown of Waar zijn de zestien stoelen en zeventien tafels?
zijn
to be
en
and
de stoel
the chair
waar
where
Questions & Answers about Waar zijn de zestien stoelen en zeventien tafels?
How are the numbers zestien and zeventien formed?
Just like in English, you combine the base number with a word for ten. For 16, you combine zes (six) and tien (ten) to make zestien. For 17, zeven (seven) and tien make zeventien.
Why does stoelen end in "-en" but tafels ends in "-s"?
Dutch has two main ways to make words plural: adding -en or adding -s. Words ending in "-el", like tafel, usually get an -s to become tafels. Short, single-syllable words like stoel usually get -en to become stoelen.
Why do we use zijn in this sentence instead of is?
Zijn is the plural form of the verb to be (are). Since we are asking about multiple chairs and tables, we need the plural form to match them. If we were looking for just one chair, we would use is.
Why isn't there a de before zeventien tafels?
In Dutch, just like in English, you do not always need to repeat the article when listing things in the same sentence. The first de applies to both the sixteen chairs and the seventeen tables, making the sentence sound perfectly natural without repeating the word.