Breakdown of Mijn ouders gaan verhuizen, maar ze hebben geen geld.
maar
but
hebben
to have
het geld
the money
geen
no / not any
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
mijn
my
de ouders
the parents
verhuizen
to move (house)
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Mijn ouders gaan verhuizen, maar ze hebben geen geld.
How do we form the future tense in "Mijn ouders gaan verhuizen"?
We use the helper verb gaan (to go) because we are talking about a plan. Since Mijn ouders (My parents) is plural, we use the plural form gaan. The main action, verhuizen (to move), is pushed to the end of the clause as a full dictionary verb (infinitive).
Why doesn't the word order change after the comma and the word maar?
The word maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction. This type of connecting word simply links two complete sentences together without mixing up the word order. That is why the subject ze (they) still comes immediately before the verb hebben (have) in the second part.
Why do we use geen geld instead of niet geld for "no money"?
In Dutch, you use geen to negate an uncountable noun or a noun that has no article (like 'the' or 'this') in front of it. Since geld (money) is uncountable and has no article here, we must use geen to mean "no money" or "not any money".
Can I use verhuizen if I want to say I am moving my arm or a chair?
No, verhuizen is used exclusively for relocating from one home or building to another. If you want to talk about physical movement, like moving your body or pushing an object, you need to use the verb bewegen.
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