Breakdown of Ze blijven de meubels verschuiven voor een betere indeling.
een
a/an
blijven
to stay
voor
for (on behalf of)
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
beter
better
het meubel
the piece of furniture
de indeling
the layout
verschuiven
to shift / to move (by sliding)
Questions & Answers about Ze blijven de meubels verschuiven voor een betere indeling.
The verb blijven usually means 'to stay'. Why is it translated as 'keep' here?
When blijven is followed by another verb in its full infinitive form (here, verschuiven), it expresses that an action is continuous or repeated. So blijven verschuiven means to 'keep shifting' or 'continue shifting'.
In English, 'furniture' is an uncountable noun. Why does Dutch use the plural meubels?
Unlike English, the Dutch word het meubel is countable and refers to a single piece of furniture. To talk about furniture in general, you use the plural de meubels. If you want an uncountable equivalent, you can use the collective noun het meubilair.
What is the difference between schuiven and verschuiven?
The verb schuiven just means to slide or push something. Adding the prefix ver- often indicates a change of position or state, so verschuiven specifically means to shift something from one place to another.
Why is there an -e on the end of betere after the word een?
The noun indeling is a de word (de indeling). Adjectives placed before a noun usually get an -e ending. The only time you drop the -e after een is when the following noun is a het word. Since it is de indeling, beter becomes betere.
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