Breakdown of Zijn theorieën bevatten vreemde analogieën.
zijn
his
vreemd
strange / weird
bevatten
to contain
de theorie
the theory
de analogie
the analogy
Questions & Answers about Zijn theorieën bevatten vreemde analogieën.
Why do theorie and analogie get -ën added to the end, similar to words like ideeën?
For nouns ending in stressed -ie (like the-o-RIE) or -ee (like i-DEE), the plural is formed by adding -ën. The trema (the two dots) is placed on the final 'e' to show that a new syllable starts there, preventing the vowels from blending together in pronunciation.
Does this mean all Dutch words ending in -ie get -ën in the plural?
No, it depends entirely on where the stress falls! In words where the final -ie is unstressed, such as porie or bacterie, you do not add an extra e. You simply add an n and place the trema on the existing e, resulting in poriën and bacteriën.
Why does vreemde get an -e ending here?
The word analogieën is a plural noun. All plural nouns in Dutch take the definite article de. Because the adjective is placed directly in front of a de word here, it gets the standard -e ending. This is a good rule of thumb to remember: adjectives before plurals almost always get an -e.
Is bevatten the standard word for 'contain' in both abstract and physical contexts?
Yes, bevatten is highly versatile. Just as a box can contain physical items, theories can contain abstract ideas or analogies. Another verb you might see is inhouden, but that is usually closer in meaning to 'entail' or 'involve', making bevatten the best fit for this sentence.
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