Breakdown of Er is een klein dorp op het eiland.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
klein
small
op
on
het dorp
the village
er
there (existential)
het eiland
the island
Questions & Answers about Er is een klein dorp op het eiland.
Why is it klein dorp and not kleine dorp?
In Dutch, adjectives usually get an -e at the end. However, you drop the -e when describing a singular het-word that is preceded by een (a) or no article at all. Since the word for village is het dorp, "a small village" becomes een klein dorp.
Since this lesson is about comparatives, how would I say "There is a smaller village" in this exact sentence?
To make a regular comparative, you add -er to the adjective, so klein becomes kleiner. The grammar rule for dropping the final -e still applies because it's een dorp, so the sentence would simply become: Er is een kleiner dorp op het eiland.
Why do we use Er is instead of Daar is to say "There is"?
Er is is used to introduce the fact that something exists, exactly like the general English phrase "There is". You would only use Daar is when you want to point to a specific physical location, meaning "Over there is a small village."
Is op the standard preposition to use with islands?
Yes! Just like in English where you say a village is "on" an island, in Dutch you use the preposition op (on) rather than in when talking about being located on an island.
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