Breakdown of Hard roepend vliegen tienduizenden vogels in formatie.
in
in
hard
loud / fast (forceful) / hard (with effort)
de vogel
the bird
roepen
to call (shout)
vliegen
to fly
de formatie
the formation
tienduizenden
tens of thousands
Questions & Answers about Hard roepend vliegen tienduizenden vogels in formatie.
The current lesson mentions the suffix -tallen for indefinite amounts. Why does this sentence use tienduizenden instead of tienduizendtallen?
For smaller base numbers, Dutch uses the suffix -tallen (like tientallen or twintigtallen) to mean 'tens of' or 'twenties of'. However, for hundreds and thousands, the standard plural forms honderden and duizenden are used directly as aggregate nouns. Therefore, 'tens of thousands' translates to tienduizenden, avoiding the -tallen suffix entirely.
Why is the verb vliegen placed before the subject tienduizenden vogels?
The sentence begins with the descriptive phrase Hard roepend (Calling loudly). Because this entire phrase occupies the first grammatical position in the sentence, the main verb vliegen must take the second position to satisfy the strict Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule. This naturally pushes the subject tienduizenden vogels into the third position.
How is the word roepend formed and used here?
Roepend is the present participle of roepen (to call or shout), formed simply by adding -d to the full infinitive. It functions here as an adverbial phrase describing an ongoing action happening simultaneously with the main verb, translating smoothly to 'Calling' or 'While calling'.
Why use hard instead of luid to mean 'loudly'?
Both hard and luid translate to 'loud' or 'loudly' and are interchangeable in this context. While English speakers might initially associate hard strictly with physical firmness or speed, it is extremely common in everyday Dutch to use it for high acoustic volume. Saying Luid roepend would also be completely correct.
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