Word
Ik kan mijn sleutel nergens vinden.
Meaning
I can't find my key anywhere.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Ik kan mijn sleutel nergens vinden.
Why doesn't the Dutch sentence use niet to say "can't"?
Because Dutch doesn't typically say "not anywhere". Instead, it uses a single negative word: nergens, which means "nowhere". The literal structure is "I can my key nowhere find."
Does nergens follow the same pattern as niets and niemand?
Yes! Just like niets (nothing) is the negative form of iets (something), nergens (nowhere) is the negative form of ergens (somewhere).
Why is vinden at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence uses the modal verb kan (can). In Dutch, the conjugated modal verb takes the second position in the sentence, pushing the main infinitive verb (vinden) all the way to the end.
Why does nergens come after mijn sleutel instead of before it?
In Dutch word order, specific direct objects (like mijn sleutel, which is specific because of the word "my") usually come before adverbs of place like nergens.