Questions & Answers about We zingen in de kerk.
This lesson is about locative er. How would I use it to just say 'We sing there'?
You can replace the entire location phrase (in de kerk) with er, which acts as an unstressed 'there'. The sentence simply becomes We zingen er.
What if I specifically want to say 'We sing in it' using er?
Dutch doesn't usually say 'in het' for things. Instead, er replaces 'het' and glues itself to the preposition in to make one word: erin. The sentence would be We zingen erin.
Why does the verb zingen look exactly like the infinitive (dictionary) form?
Because the subject is plural (we). In Dutch, plural subjects (wij/we, jullie, zij/ze) take the plural form of the verb, which is exactly the same as the basic infinitive form.
Are kerk and the English word 'church' related?
Yes! They come from the same root word. Dutch kept the hard 'k' sounds (very similar to the Scottish word 'kirk'), while English softened them into 'ch' sounds.
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