Breakdown of De kinderen leren de taal spelenderwijs.
het kind
the child
leren
to learn
de taal
the language
spelenderwijs
playfully
Questions & Answers about De kinderen leren de taal spelenderwijs.
How exactly is the adverb spelenderwijs formed?
It combines the present participle of the verb spelen (which is spelend, meaning "playing") with the suffix -wijs (meaning "manner" or "way"). The -er- in the middle is a leftover from an old Dutch genitive case ending. Together, it literally means "in a playing manner" or "by means of playing".
Since this lesson is about the suffix -gewijs, could I just say spelgewijs?
No, because the suffix -gewijs is generally added to nouns, such as de stap becoming stapsgewijs (step-by-step). When creating an adverb from a verb to describe the manner of an action, Dutch uses the present participle plus -wijs, resulting in the -enderwijs ending. Another example is vragenderwijs (by asking/through questioning).
Could I just use the standard present participle spelend here instead of spelenderwijs?
Yes, you could say De kinderen leren de taal spelend. However, spelenderwijs is a fixed adverb that strongly emphasizes the method of learning. Using just spelend sounds slightly more like two separate but simultaneous actions ("they learn the language while they happen to be playing"). Spelenderwijs is the standard, natural term for educational contexts.
Why does spelenderwijs go at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch word order, adverbs of manner (which describe how something is done) are usually placed after a specific direct object. Because de taal (the language) is a specific object, spelenderwijs comes after it. If the object were general or indefinite, the adverb would come first, as in Ze leren spelenderwijs talen (They learn languages playfully).
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