Breakdown of Onze kinderen spelen met de kalveren.
het kind
the child
met
with
spelen
to play
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
het kalf
the calf
Questions & Answers about Onze kinderen spelen met de kalveren.
Why do kind and kalf get -eren for their plural instead of the usual -en or -s?
A small group of neuter (het) words take this irregular -eren plural. kind becomes kinderen (children) and kalf becomes kalveren (calves). There are only about a dozen of these in Dutch, so it is best to just memorize them when you see them!
Why does the f in kalf change to a v in kalveren?
In Dutch, when a word ends in f, it often changes to a v when you add a plural ending. Because the -eren suffix starts with a vowel, the harsh f sound softens into a v, making kalf turn into kalveren.
If kind is a het word, why does the sentence use onze kinderen instead of ons kinderen?
You would indeed say ons kind for a single child because it is a het word. However, in the plural, all nouns act like de words (de kinderen). Because plural nouns always take de, the word for our must get an -e at the end, becoming onze.
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