Breakdown of De zanger hoort iemand klappen.
horen
to hear
iemand
someone
de zanger
the singer
klappen
to clap
Questions & Answers about De zanger hoort iemand klappen.
Why is there no 'te' before klappen?
Because of the verb hoort (hears). When using verbs of perception like horen (to hear), zien (to see), and voelen (to feel), you use the bare infinitive for the action being perceived. This works exactly like English: you say 'hears someone clap', not 'hears someone to clap'.
Does klappen mean 'clap' or 'clapping' here?
It translates to both! Dutch does not have a separate '-ing' form like English does. De zanger hoort iemand klappen can mean both 'The singer hears someone clap' and 'The singer hears someone clapping'.
Why is klappen placed at the very end of the sentence?
This is a standard Dutch word order rule. The main conjugated verb (hoort) takes the second position in the sentence, but any additional verbs, like the infinitive klappen, are pushed all the way to the end.
If the singer heard nobody clapping, how would you change this sentence?
You would replace iemand (someone) with niemand (nobody). The sentence would become: De zanger hoort niemand klappen.