Breakdown of Iemand moet dit dingetje snel repareren.
snel
fast
dit
this (neuter)
moeten
to have to, must
repareren
to repair
iemand
someone
het ding
the thing
Questions & Answers about Iemand moet dit dingetje snel repareren.
Why is the diminutive spelled dingetje instead of just adding -je or -tje?
Words that end in -ng, like ding, usually get the suffix -etje. This makes it much easier to pronounce. Trying to say dingtje or dingje would be a bit of a tongue twister!
Why do we use dit instead of deze for 'this little thing'?
We use dit because it is paired with a het word. While the original word is already het ding, it is a great rule to remember that all diminutives (words ending in -je, -tje, -etje, etc.) automatically become het words. Therefore, you always use dit (this) or dat (that) with them.
Why is the verb repareren all the way at the end of the sentence?
This happens because of the verb moet (must). In Dutch, when you use a modal verb like moeten, kunnen, or willen, the main action verb (here, repareren) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in its full infinitive form.
Is the word iemand always singular?
Yes! Just like 'someone' in English, the Dutch word iemand is treated as a single person. That is why it uses the singular verb form moet instead of the plural moeten.
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