Breakdown of Er was gisteren een scooter kapot.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
gisteren
yesterday
er
there (existential)
kapot
broken
de scooter
the scooter (motorized)
Questions & Answers about Er was gisteren een scooter kapot.
Why do we use er instead of just starting with een scooter?
When introducing a new, unspecific thing into a story (an indefinite subject like een scooter), Dutch uses er as a 'dummy subject.' Starting with Een scooter was... sounds unnatural to a Dutch speaker. Er takes the first position, and the real subject moves later in the sentence.
Why does gisteren come before een scooter?
In sentences starting with the dummy subject er, the actual subject (een scooter) gets pushed back. Time words like gisteren usually come as early as possible in the sentence, right after the first verb.
Why is kapot at the very end instead of next to the scooter?
English translates this as 'a broken scooter,' but the Dutch sentence literally says 'There was yesterday a scooter broken.' Kapot is used here to describe the state of the scooter, so it goes at the end of the clause.
Why isn't it kapotte?
Adjectives only get an extra -e when they are attached directly in front of the noun (as in een kapotte scooter). Because kapot is separated from the noun and placed at the end of the sentence, it stays in its basic dictionary form.
Learn Er was gisteren een scooter kapot and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free