Breakdown of Er staat een houten tafel naast de glazen deur.
een
a/an
de tafel
the table
staan
to stand
naast
next to
de deur
the door
er
there (existential)
houten
wooden
glazen
glass (adjective)
Questions & Answers about Er staat een houten tafel naast de glazen deur.
Why do houten and glazen end in -en here?
They are material adjectives, which describe what something is made of. In Dutch, material adjectives get a fixed -en ending. So hout (wood) becomes houten and glas (glass) becomes glazen. Unlike normal adjectives, they do not change their ending based on whether you use de, het, or een.
Why does glas change to glazen with a 'z' instead of an 's'?
This follows a standard Dutch spelling rule. When a short word or syllable ends in a single vowel plus s, adding an ending like -en makes the s change to a z for a smoother pronunciation. You will see this pattern often, similar to how an f changes to a v.
Why does the sentence use staat instead of just is?
Dutch speakers prefer to be specific about how an object is positioned. Because a table stands upright on legs, we say it staat (stands). When talking about where things are, you will constantly see position verbs like staat, ligt (lies), or zit (sits) instead of just the verb to be.
Why does the sentence start with Er?
In this sentence, Er acts just like the English word there in the phrase there is. We use Er plus a verb to introduce a new, non-specific subject (like een houten tafel) into a location.
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