Word
De kleine muis ging naar de kaas!
Meaning
The small mouse went to the cheese!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De kleine muis ging naar de kaas!
klein
small
naar
to
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
de kaas
the cheese
Questions & Answers about De kleine muis ging naar de kaas!
What verb is ging, and why does it look so different from its infinitive?
Ging is the singular simple past tense of the verb gaan (to go). Just like in English (where "go" becomes "went"), gaan is a strong, irregular verb whose past tense changes completely. Since de muis is a singular subject, we use ging.
If there were multiple mice, how would ging change?
For plural subjects, you simply add -en to the singular past tense form. If the sentence was about multiple mice, it would be De kleine muizen gingen naar de kaas! (The small mice went to the cheese!).
Why does klein have an -e at the end here (kleine)?
Because it comes right before the noun it describes, and that noun uses the definite article de (de muis). As a quick refresher: in Dutch, adjectives usually get an -e ending when they are placed directly before the noun.
Why do we use naar to mean "to" in this sentence?
The preposition naar is specifically used to show physical movement or direction toward a destination. Since the mouse is actively traveling toward the cheese, naar is the correct word to use here.