Breakdown of De duiker filmde het oude wrak op de bodem.
oud
old
op
on
filmen
to film
de bodem
the ground / the soil (bottom)
Questions & Answers about De duiker filmde het oude wrak op de bodem.
Why does oude get an -e ending if wrak is a neuter (het) word?
With het words, you only drop the -e from the adjective when using the indefinite article een (or no article at all), like in een oud wrak. Because this sentence uses the definite article het, the adjective takes the standard -e ending to become het oude wrak.
Why use bodem here instead of grond?
Bodem is the specific word used for the bottom of a body of water (like a sea floor or lake bottom), as well as the bottom of containers (like a pan or bottle). Grond generally refers to the soil, earth, or ground we walk on up on land.
Filmen is an English loanword. Do loanwords follow the standard Dutch past tense rules?
Yes, they usually do! To find the simple past, we take the stem film. The final letter is m, which is not in the consonant rule 't kofschip (or soft ketchup), so we add -de(n) rather than -te(n). This gives us filmde for the singular subject de duiker.
Why do we say op de bodem instead of in de bodem if the wreck is deep underwater?