Breakdown of Wat een zwerm! Tientallen vogels vliegen zuidwaarts.
een
a/an
wat
what
de vogel
the bird
vliegen
to fly
tientallen
dozens / tens
de zwerm
the flock
zuidwaarts
southwards
Questions & Answers about Wat een zwerm! Tientallen vogels vliegen zuidwaarts.
Why does the translation say "dozens" when tientallen literally means "tens"?
While a literal dozen is een dozijn, native Dutch speakers rarely use its plural to mean an indefinite medium-large amount. Instead, the natural, idiomatic way to say "dozens of" in Dutch is tientallen (literally "tens").
Why is there no Dutch word for "of" between tientallen and vogels?
In Dutch, indefinite aggregate numbers like tientallen, honderden (hundreds), or duizenden (thousands) modify the noun directly. You just place them side-by-side, so tientallen vogels translates to "dozens of birds". You do not use the word van (of) here.
How does the word zuidwaarts get its meaning?
It combines zuid (south) with the suffix -waarts, which is the exact equivalent of the English suffix "-wards". It turns a location or direction into an adverb of movement. You will also frequently see this in words like noordwaarts (northwards) or huiswaarts (homewards).
Is the exclamation wat een used exactly like "what a" in English?
In this singular sentence, wat een zwerm perfectly mirrors "what a flock". However, watch out for plurals! Unlike English, Dutch still keeps the een for plural exclamations. For example, "What beautiful birds!" translates to Wat een mooie vogels!.
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