Word
Mijn oma's wonen in de stad.
Meaning
My grandmas live in the city.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Mijn oma's wonen in de stad.
Why does oma's have an apostrophe? Doesn't that mean possession?
In English, an apostrophe-s usually shows possession (like "grandma's house"). But in Dutch, it is often used to make words plural! Nouns ending in a single open vowel, like the "a" in oma, get an 's to become plural.
Why is the apostrophe necessary? Couldn't we just write omas?
The apostrophe protects the long vowel sound in oma. In Dutch spelling rules, adding just an s to make omas would make the "a" sound short. The apostrophe tells you to keep pronouncing it with a long "a" sound.
How do we know oma's is plural and not possessive in this sentence?
The verb gives it away! wonen is the plural form of the verb "to live". If the sentence were about something belonging to one grandma, it would use a singular verb, like in Mijn oma's huis is groot (My grandma's house is big).
Do all Dutch words ending in a vowel get an apostrophe-s for the plural?
No, words ending in an "e" usually just get a normal -s without an apostrophe, like tantes (aunts) or meisjes (girls). The apostrophe rule is mostly for words ending in a, i, o, u, or y.