Breakdown of De hond mag niet op het gras lopen.
niet
not
de hond
the dog
lopen
to walk
op
on
mogen
to be allowed to / may
het gras
the grass
Questions & Answers about De hond mag niet op het gras lopen.
What does mag mean, and why is it used here?
The subject is de hond (the dog). Why is the verb mag instead of magt?
Modal verbs like mogen have irregular conjugations. Normally, for a "he/she/it" subject like a dog, you would add a -t to the verb. But for mogen, the singular form for "I", "you", "he", "she", and "it" is all just mag without a -t.
Why is lopen (to walk) at the very end of the sentence?
This is a strict word order rule in Dutch. When you use a modal verb like mag, it sits in the normal verb position (usually second place). The actual action being done (lopen) is then pushed all the way to the end of the sentence in its full dictionary form.
Why does niet come immediately after mag?
In Dutch, niet generally comes after the working verb of the sentence. Here, it is placed directly after mag to negate the permission itself, showing that the dog does not have permission.
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