Questions & Answers about De vogel kan mooi zingen.
Why is the verb zingen at the very end of the sentence?
When you use a modal verb like kunnen (can/to be able to), it takes the second position in the sentence. The main action verb, which is zingen (to sing) here, gets pushed all the way to the end in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).
Why do we use kan here instead of kunnen?
Kan is the singular form used for he, she, and it. Since De vogel (the bird) is a singular subject, we use kan. Kunnen is the plural form, which you would use if the sentence was about multiple birds (De vogels kunnen...).
The English translation says "beautifully", but mooi usually means "beautiful". Why isn't there a special ending?
In Dutch, you don't need to add a special ending like "-ly" in English to turn an adjective into an adverb (a word that describes an action). You just use the basic, unchanged form of the adjective. So mooi can mean both "beautiful" and "beautifully".
Does kan mean the bird has the ability to sing, or that it is allowed to sing?
It means the bird has the physical ability or skill to sing well. If you wanted to say the bird has permission to sing, you would use a different modal verb, mag (from mogen, meaning may or to be allowed to).
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