Questions & Answers about De man staat op de hoek.
The English translation uses "is standing". Why isn't there a word for "is" in the Dutch sentence?
Dutch doesn't use the verb "to be" to show ongoing actions the way English does. The single word staat translates to both "stands" and "is standing". Saying is staat or is staan would be incorrect here.
Which irregular verb is staat from, and how does it change for different subjects?
It comes from the verb staan (to stand). The forms are ik sta (I stand), jij staat (you stand), and hij/zij/het staat (he/she/it stands). Plurals use the full infinitive: wij staan (we stand). Because de man is a "he", we use staat.
Why do we use the word op here?
Op is a very common preposition that usually means "on" or "on top of". Just like in English, when someone is located at an intersection, Dutch says they are standing "on" the corner (op de hoek).