Breakdown of Hangen er nu muffe kleren?
nu
now
hangen
to hang
er
there (existential)
de kleren
the clothes
muf
musty / stuffy (stale air or smell)
Questions & Answers about Hangen er nu muffe kleren?
Why is er placed immediately after the verb hangen?
Why is the subject muffe kleren placed after the time adverb nu?
When a sentence uses er to introduce something, the subject is usually indefinite (like muffe kleren, meaning it doesn't use de, het, or mijn). Indefinite subjects are pushed further back in the sentence, typically coming after time adverbs like nu.
Why does the adjective muf change to muffe with a double 'f'?
We add an -e because kleren is a plural noun, and adjectives before plural nouns get an -e ending. Because muf has a short vowel sound, we must double the consonant when adding that ending to keep the vowel short. If we spelled it mufe, the rules of Dutch pronunciation would turn it into a long 'u' sound.
Is er acting as a location here or just meaning 'there are'?
It is actually doing both at the same time! It acts as the existential er (like 'there is' or 'there are') to introduce the new information muffe kleren. However, because hangen implies a physical state in a place, er also covers the locative meaning of hanging 'there'.
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