Breakdown of Hij neemt de jurk drie centimeter in.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
drie
three
de jurk
the dress
de centimeter
the centimeter
Questions & Answers about Hij neemt de jurk drie centimeter in.
Why is it centimeter instead of centimeters when there are three of them?
In Dutch, exact units of measure, weight, and currency usually stay in the singular form when they follow a number. Just as you learned to say vijf euro or twee kilo, you say drie centimeter here.
Why is the word in at the very end of the sentence?
In is part of the separable verb innemen, which means to take in or alter a piece of clothing to make it smaller. In a normal main clause, the verb splits: the core verb (neemt) takes the second position, and the prefix (in) gets pushed to the end.
The English translation says 'by three centimeters', but there is no word for 'by' in the Dutch sentence. Why?
When expressing by what amount something changes, Dutch simply uses the measurement directly without a preposition. You just say drie centimeter instead of using a literal translation for the word 'by'.