Learn Dutch: De tiende bus komt laat. - The tenth bus comes late.

For most numbers from 2 to 19, you just add -de to the standard number. Here, tien (ten) becomes tiende (tenth). Watch out for exceptions like 1st (eerste) and 8th (achtste) which get -ste instead.

In English we usually say the bus is late. Can I say De tiende bus is laat?

Yes, you can! De tiende bus is laat is perfectly correct. However, Dutch speakers very commonly use the verb komen (to come) when talking about buses, trains, or people arriving behind schedule, which is why we see komt laat here.

Why do we use komt instead of the full verb komen?

Because De tiende bus (the tenth bus) is a single object, similar to the pronoun it. For these third-person singular subjects, Dutch verbs take the stem of the verb (kom) and add a -t, making it komt.

How do I pronounce the double aa in laat?

Even though it means exactly the same thing as the English word late, the double aa in Dutch makes a long ah sound, similar to the a in the English word father. So laat sounds more like laht.