Word
We bezorgen de buurman het pakket.
Meaning
We deliver the package to the neighbor.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of We bezorgen de buurman het pakket.
het pakket
the package
de buurman
the neighbor (male)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
bezorgen
to deliver (parcels, mail, home delivery)
Questions & Answers about We bezorgen de buurman het pakket.
Why is there no word for "to" in this sentence?
In Dutch, you can leave out the preposition aan (to) if you place the indirect object (de buurman) immediately before the definite direct object (het pakket). This is just like English where you can say "We deliver the neighbor the package" instead of "We deliver the package to the neighbor".
How would this sentence change if I wanted to use the word aan?
If you use aan, the direct object must come first. You would say: We bezorgen het pakket aan de buurman. Both structures are correct and commonly used.
Could I use leveren instead of bezorgen for "deliver"?
For delivering a package, mail, or food to a house, bezorgen is the best choice. Leveren sounds more commercial or industrial, like a wholesaler supplying bulk goods to a business.
If the direct object were a pronoun (like "it"), would the word order stay the same?
No, if you replace het pakket with the pronoun het, the pronoun moves forward. You would either say We bezorgen het de buurman or We bezorgen het aan de buurman. Unstressed pronouns generally need to sit closer to the verb!