Learn Dutch: Ze vertelt de waarheid niet. - She does not tell the truth.

In Dutch, when you negate the whole sentence, niet usually goes at the end. Because de waarheid (the truth) is a specific, definite object, niet must be placed after it. It doesn't go right after the verb like 'not' often does in English.

Why do we use niet here instead of geen?

We only use geen to negate nouns that are indefinite (like 'a lie' or 'lies', where you might use 'a' or no article). Because de waarheid uses the definite article de (the), it is a specific thing, so we must use niet.

The word Ze can mean 'she' or 'they'. How do we know it means 'she' here?

You can tell by looking at the verb! The verb vertelt ends in a -t, which is the singular form used for 'he', 'she', or 'it'. If Ze meant 'they', the verb would take the full plural form: Ze vertellen.

Could this sentence also translate to 'She is not telling the truth'?

Yes! Dutch does not have a separate 'is doing' tense like English does. Ze vertelt de waarheid niet naturally translates to both 'She does not tell the truth' and 'She is not telling the truth', depending on the situation.