Questions & Answers about De gele bloemen staan buiten.
Why is the adjective gele instead of the dictionary form geel?
Because it comes directly before the noun it describes (bloemen). In Dutch, when an adjective is placed in front of a noun like this, it gets an extra -e at the end.
If the base word is geel, why isn't it spelled geele?
This happens because of the Dutch open syllable rule. When you add the -e ending, the word splits into syllables like this: ge-le. Because the first syllable now ends in a vowel, that single e automatically makes a long sound. Writing a double vowel (geele) is unnecessary and incorrect in Dutch spelling.
Why use staan (stand) here instead of zijn (are)?
While English speakers usually say things 'are' somewhere, Dutch frequently uses positional verbs to describe location. Because flowers grow upright from the ground or sit upright in a vase, they stand (staan) outside.
Is bloemen a regular plural?
Yes! The singular word is bloem (flower). To make it plural, we just add the standard -en ending to get bloemen. Also, remember that all plural nouns in Dutch take the article de, which is why we say de bloemen.
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