Word
Wij wonen al twee jaar in een bergachtig gebied.
Meaning
We have been living in a mountainous area for two years already.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Wij wonen al twee jaar in een bergachtig gebied.
How does the suffix -achtig change the meaning of berg here?
The suffix -achtig turns a noun into an adjective that means "like", "full of", or "having the characteristics of". By adding it to berg (mountain), we get bergachtig, which translates to "mountainous". It functions similarly to the English suffixes "-ous" or "-y".
Why does the Dutch sentence use the present tense (wonen) when the English translation says "have been living"?
English uses the present perfect continuous for an action that started in the past and is still happening today. Dutch simply uses the present tense (wonen) combined with al (already) and a time period (twee jaar). If you used the Dutch perfect tense (Wij hebben gewoond), it would imply that you no longer live there.
Why is the adjective written as bergachtig without an -e at the end?
This is due to the Dutch adjective inflection rules. Gebied is a het-word (het gebied). When an adjective comes before a singular het-word preceded by the indefinite article een (a/an), the adjective does not get an -e ending. If you used the definite article, it would be het bergachtige gebied.
Why does al twee jaar appear before the location in een bergachtig gebied?