Breakdown of Dieren zoals honden en katten zijn leuk.
de hond
the dog
de kat
the cat
leuk
nice / fun
het dier
the animal
Questions & Answers about Dieren zoals honden en katten zijn leuk.
Why is "zoals" used here instead of just "als"?
The word zoals means "such as" or "like" when you are giving examples. If you just used als on its own, it would usually mean "as" or "when".
Why does the word "katten" have two 't's when the singular is just "kat"?
This is due to Dutch spelling rules for keeping vowels short. Because the 'a' in kat is a short vowel, we have to double the 't' when adding the plural ending -en. If we didn't double it and wrote "katen", the 'a' would change to a long vowel sound.
Since "dieren" is plural, why doesn't the adjective "leuk" get an 'e' at the end ("leuke")?
Adjectives only get an extra -e when they are placed directly before the noun they describe, like in leuke dieren (nice animals). Because leuk comes after the verb zijn (are), it stays in its basic dictionary form without an extra 'e'.
Does "leuk" always just mean "nice"?
It translates to "nice" in this sentence, but leuk is a very common and versatile Dutch word. Depending on the situation, it can also mean "fun", "cute", "pleasant", or "enjoyable".