Word
De vrouw vouwt de kleren netjes op.
Meaning
The woman folds the clothes neatly.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De vrouw vouwt de kleren netjes op.
de vrouw
the woman
de kleren
the clothes
netjes
neatly
opvouwen
to fold
Questions & Answers about De vrouw vouwt de kleren netjes op.
Why is de kleren placed before the adverb netjes?
In Dutch, the middle of the sentence has specific rules for word order. Because de kleren is a definite direct object (it has the specific article de), it must come before adverbs of time, manner, or place like netjes (neatly).
How would the word order change if she were folding "clothes" in general instead of "the clothes"?
If the object were indefinite (just kleren instead of de kleren), it would move after the adverb. The sentence would become: De vrouw vouwt netjes kleren op. Indefinite objects are placed closer to the end of the sentence, after adverbs.
Why is the word op at the very end of the sentence?
The verb being used here is opvouwen (to fold up), which is a separable verb. In a main clause, the conjugated part (vouwt) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (op) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
Why does the adverb netjes end in -jes? Is it a diminutive?
Yes! It comes from the adjective net (neat or tidy). In Dutch, it is very common to turn certain adjectives into adverbs of manner by adding the diminutive suffix -jes. You will also see this in words like zachtjes (softly) or stilletjes (quietly).