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De politie werkt op het politiebureau.

De politie werkt op het politiebureau.
The police work at the police station.
From Lesson 86:If and when clauses (als)·Dutch

Breakdown of De politie werkt op het politiebureau.

werken
to work
de politie
the police
het politiebureau
the police station

Questions & Answers about De politie werkt op het politiebureau.

Why is it werkt (singular) when in English we say "the police work" (plural)?
In Dutch, de politie is a singular noun, similar to "the government" or "the family" in English. Because it represents a single organization, it takes the singular verb form werkt.
Why do we use the preposition op here to mean "at"?
Dutch often uses op (literally "on") with specific workplaces and public institutions. It is a fixed combination you will see frequently, such as op het politiebureau (at the police station), op kantoor (at the office), and op school (at school).
How do I know to use het for politiebureau?
For compound words made of two or more nouns, the "de" or "het" article is always determined by the very last word. Because it is het bureau (the desk/office), the combined word het politiebureau is also a het word.

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