Learn Dutch: Deze bijenkorf is erg zwaar omdat er veel honing in zit. - This beehive is very heavy because there is a lot of honey in it.

Deze bijenkorf is erg zwaar omdat er veel honing in zit.

This beehive is very heavy because there is a lot of honey in it.

Breakdown of Deze bijenkorf is erg zwaar omdat er veel honing in zit.

zijn

to be

veel

much / many / a lot of

erg

very / really

Questions & Answers about Deze bijenkorf is erg zwaar omdat er veel honing in zit.

Why does the sentence use zit (sits) instead of is for 'there is honey in it'?

In Dutch, when things are contained inside something else (like honey in a hive, or soup in a bowl), you use the verb zitten (to sit) rather than zijn (to be). So er zit honing in literally means 'there sits honey in it', which is the natural way to say 'there is honey in it'.

Why is the verb zit pushed to the very end of the sentence?

The word omdat (because) introduces a subordinate clause. In a Dutch subordinate clause, the conjugated verb is always kicked to the end. That is why zit appears after in, rather than right after the subject like it would in a main clause.

Where does the 'it' in 'in it' come from, since I don't see the word het?

In Dutch, you cannot say 'in het' to mean 'in it' when referring to a thing. Instead, you combine er (there) and in (in) to make erin. In this sentence, erin splits apart to wrap around the subject (veel honing), giving us the structure er veel honing in zit.

I sometimes mix up deze and dit. How do we know to use deze here?