Learn Dutch: Van wie zijn deze standbeelden van de oude goden? - Whose are these statues of the old gods?

The singular noun god has a short 'o' sound. This is one of the irregular nouns that shifts from a short vowel in the singular to a long vowel in the plural. To show that long 'o' sound in an open syllable, we use one 'o' and one 'd' (goden). If it were a regular noun, we would have doubled the 'd' (godden) to keep the 'o' short.

How do you say "whose" in Dutch? Why is it Van wie here?

Dutch does not have a single, everyday question word for "whose". Instead, you use the phrase van wie, which literally means "of whom" or "from whom". So "Whose are these statues?" translates as Van wie zijn deze standbeelden?.

Since standbeelden is a compound word, does the plural ending just go on the final part?

Yes! When making a compound noun plural, you only look at the final word. The word beeld (image) becomes beelden, so standbeeld (statue) becomes standbeelden. Because beeld already has a long vowel (the double 'e'), it takes the standard -en ending without any irregular vowel shifts.

Why does oude get an -e at the end, and does it change the pronunciation?