Breakdown of Eenenvijftig studenten leren Nederlands.
de student
the student
één
one
leren
to learn
Nederlands
Dutch
Questions & Answers about Eenenvijftig studenten leren Nederlands.
Why is fifty-one written backwards as eenenvijftig?
In Dutch, numbers from 21 to 99 are flipped compared to English. You literally say one-and-fifty (een + en + vijftig). Notice that all the parts are glued together into one single word without any spaces.
How do I know whether to make the plural studenten instead of adding an s?
Most Dutch nouns take -en to become plural, especially when they end in a consonant like student. The -s ending is mostly used for words ending in vowels.
Why is the verb leren here instead of leert?
Because the subject is plural (eenenvijftig studenten). For plural subjects, Dutch uses the full infinitive (dictionary) form of the verb, which is leren. If it were just one student, it would be leert.
Are languages always capitalized in Dutch like Nederlands?
Yes! Just like in English, names of languages, countries, and nationalities always begin with a capital letter in Dutch.