Breakdown of Is hij de vijfde student?
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
de student
the student
vijfde
fifth (5th)
Questions & Answers about Is hij de vijfde student?
How do we get vijfde (fifth) from the number vijf (five)?
You simply add -de to the normal number. In Dutch, most numbers from 2 to 19 become ordinal numbers (like 2nd, 4th, 5th) by adding -de to the end of the base number.
The lesson mentions -ste as well. Why doesn't vijfde use -ste?
Most numbers up to 19 use -de, so vijf becomes vijfde. The ending -ste is only used for "first" (eerste) and "eighth" (achtste) in this range. For all numbers from 20 onwards, you will always use -ste (like twintigste for twentieth).
Why is the word order Is hij instead of Hij is?
This is how you ask a yes/no question in Dutch. You swap the subject (hij) and the verb (is). It works exactly like the English "Is he...?".
Does student mean the exact same thing as in English?
Yes, but with a small catch. In Dutch, a student specifically means someone studying at a university or college. If you are talking about a child in primary or high school, you would normally use the word leerling (pupil) instead.
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