Breakdown of Het kind glijdt over de boomstam heen.
het kind
the child
heen
to / towards (motion away)
over
over, across (spatial)
de boomstam
the tree trunk
glijden
to slide
Questions & Answers about Het kind glijdt over de boomstam heen.
Why do we use over ... heen instead of just over?
In Dutch, adding heen to a preposition like over emphasizes the path or movement from one side to the other. While Het kind glijdt over de boomstam is also correct, adding heen paints a clearer picture that the child is crossing entirely over the log to the other side.
Where exactly does heen go in the sentence?
The word heen always comes immediately after the object of the preposition. Together, over and heen act as a pair (a circumposition) that neatly wraps around the noun phrase, which in this case is de boomstam.
Could I use naartoe instead of heen in this sentence?
No. You use naartoe when you are talking about a destination (moving to or towards a specific place). Here, the child isn't just going to the tree trunk, but sliding across it, so over ... heen is the correct combination for this path.
Why does the verb glijdt end in 'dt'?
The infinitive of the verb is glijden (to slide). To get the stem, we remove the -en, leaving glijd (which already ends in a 'd'). Because the subject is third-person singular (het kind), we add a -t to the stem, resulting in the -dt spelling.
Learn Het kind glijdt over de boomstam 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