Breakdown of De hond zoekt dat rode balletje.
de hond
the dog
zoeken
to look for
dat
that (het-words)
rood
red
de bal
the ball
Questions & Answers about De hond zoekt dat rode balletje.
Why is the diminutive of bal spelled balletje with a double 'l' and '-etje'?
The word bal has a short vowel sound followed by a single consonant (l). To keep the vowel sounding short when adding a suffix, you must double the consonant first. Then, words with a short vowel ending in 'l', 'm', 'n', 'r', or 'ng' get the -etje ending. So bal becomes balletje.
Why does the sentence use dat instead of die for the ball?
All diminutive words in Dutch are het words, no matter what gender the original noun was. Because balletje is a het word, you must use the demonstrative word dat (that) instead of die.
Wait, if balletje is a het word, why does the adjective have an '-e' at the end (rode)? Shouldn't it be rood?
Adjectives in front of het words only drop the '-e' when the noun is indefinite (like when using een or no article). Because you are using dat, the noun is definite, so the adjective gets the standard -e ending.
The English translation says 'is looking for', but where is the word for 'for' in the Dutch sentence?
The Dutch verb zoeken translates to 'to look for' or 'to seek'. You do not need to add a preposition like voor; the meaning of 'for' is already built directly into the verb zoeken.
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