Questions & Answers about De kat loopt door het huis.
Is door the same as a door in a house?
No, this is a false friend! In Dutch, the preposition door means through. If you want to talk about the physical door you open and close, the Dutch word is de deur.
Could I use in instead of door here?
Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly. De kat loopt in het huis means the cat is simply walking around inside the house. Door het huis emphasizes movement through the space, like walking from the front door to the back garden or from room to room.
I've heard the verb lopen can also mean to run. Is the cat running here?
It could be, but in everyday Dutch, lopen usually just means to walk. If you want to be completely clear that the cat is moving very fast, you would use the verb rennen.
Why is it het huis and not de huis?
Dutch has two words for the: de and het. Huis is a neuter noun, which means it always takes het. Because there are very few rules to predict this, it is best to memorize every new noun together with its matching article.