Breakdown of Het pad loopt om de grote rots heen.
groot
big
om
around
heen
to / towards (motion away)
het pad
the path
lopen
to run, lead (of a path or road)
de rots
the rock
Questions & Answers about Het pad loopt om de grote rots heen.
Why do we need both om and heen in this sentence?
This is a circumposition, a two-part preposition used to emphasize a path or direction. While om by itself can mean 'around', adding heen after the noun (de grote rots) specifically highlights the continuous route going all the way around the rock.
Why does the sentence use loopt when a path cannot walk?
Although lopen literally translates to 'to walk' or 'to run', Dutch naturally uses it to describe the physical route of stationary things that span a distance. You will often see rivers, roads, pipelines, and paths 'walking' (lopen) where English would use 'going', 'running', or 'leading'.
What determines exactly where heen is placed in the sentence?
In a circumposition like om ... heen, the two parts bracket the object they refer to. The first part (om) goes before the object, and the second part (heen) goes immediately after the complete noun phrase that the path wraps around, which in this case is de grote rots.
Learn Het pad loopt om de grote rots heen 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