Questions & Answers about Samen zijn de dieren sterk.
Why is the verb zijn placed before the subject de dieren?
This is because of the Dutch verb-second rule. Whenever you start a sentence with something other than the subject—in this case, the word Samen (Together)—the verb must still take the second spot. This pushes the subject (de dieren) right after the verb.
Since the lesson is about elkaar (each other), why don't we use it here instead of samen?
Samen means "together" as a united group, which fits perfectly when describing a shared state like being strong. Elkaar means "each other" and is used when members of a group are doing an action to one another (for example, De dieren helpen elkaar - The animals help each other).
De dieren is plural, so why doesn't the adjective sterk get an -e at the end?
You only add an -e to an adjective when it comes directly before the noun it describes (as in de sterke dieren). When the adjective comes later in the sentence to describe the subject, separated by a verb like zijn, it stays in its basic form: sterk.
I see de dieren, but is "animal" a de or het word in the singular?