Breakdown of We slapen in de zomer in een kleine tent.
een
a/an
klein
small
in
in
slapen
to sleep
de zomer
the summer
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
de tent
the tent
Questions & Answers about We slapen in de zomer in een kleine tent.
Why does in de zomer come before in een kleine tent?
In Dutch, expressions of time usually come before expressions of place. This rule is often called "Time before Place". So, we say when we sleep (in de zomer) before where we sleep (in een kleine tent).
Can I just say in zomer instead of in de zomer, like we sometimes say "in summer" in English?
No, in Dutch you must always use the definite article (de) with seasons. To say "in summer" or "in winter", it is always in de zomer, in de herfst, in de winter, and in de lente.
Why is there an -e on the end of kleine if we are using the word een?
Tent is a de-word (de tent). When you use an adjective before a noun, it almost always gets an -e at the end. The only time you drop the -e is when you have a het-word combined with een (for example, een klein meisje). Since it's de tent, it must be een kleine tent.
Is it normal to use in twice in the same sentence like this?
Yes, it is perfectly fine! Just like in English, Dutch uses the preposition in for both seasons of the year (in de zomer) and for being physically inside an enclosed space (in een kleine tent).
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