Question 1

How does the possessive work in elkaars? Why is there no apostrophe?

Accepted Answer

To say "each other's", you simply add an s to elkaar, creating elkaars. Unlike English, Dutch only uses an apostrophe-s for possession if the word ends in a single open vowel (like oma's) to preserve the long vowel sound. Since elkaar ends in a consonant, it just gets an attached s.

Question 2

Why do we use kennen here instead of weten for "know"?

Accepted Answer

In Dutch, kennen is used when you are familiar with a noun, such as a person, place, or concept. Since "intimate longings" (innige verlangens) is a noun phrase, we must use kennen. You would use weten to express knowledge of a fact, which usually requires a sub-clause (e.g., Wij weten wat je verlangt - We know what you long for).

Question 3

Verlangen is a verb. How does it become the plural noun verlangens here?

Accepted Answer

You can turn many Dutch infinitives into neuter nouns (e.g., het verlangen - the longing or desire). While these verb-nouns often stay singular when talking about the abstract act of doing something, they take a plural -s when referring to specific, countable instances. Therefore, verlangens translates directly to "longings" or "desires".

Question 4

Can we turn the adjective innig (intimate) into a noun using the -de suffix from this lesson?

Accepted Answer

No, the -de suffix (as seen in words like koude or liefde) is reserved for a specific set of adjectives, often related to physical properties or core states. You cannot apply it freely to any adjective. To make an abstract noun out of innig, you must use the suffix -heid, creating innigheid (intimacy). In this sentence, we simply use the inflected adjective innige to describe the desires.

Wij kennen elkaars innige verlangens.

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