Breakdown of De collega linkte het blog aan de website.
de collega
the colleague
aan
on / at (attached to, edge)
de website
the website
het blog
the blog
linken
to link
Questions & Answers about De collega linkte het blog aan de website.
Why does the loanword linken take -te in the past tense instead of -de?
Even though linken is an English loanword, it follows standard Dutch conjugation rules. To form the past tense, we look at the stem (link). Since the stem ends in k, which is a voiceless consonant covered by the 't kofschip rule, it takes the -te ending.
How would you say this sentence in the present perfect tense?
It would be: De collega heeft het blog aan de website gelinkt. Just like a regular Dutch verb, you add the ge- prefix to the stem and end with a -t (again, because the stem ends in a voiceless k).
Why do we use the preposition aan instead of naar to mean "to" here?
When you connect, attach, or link one thing to another, Dutch uses aan. You would use naar for movement or direction (like clicking a link to go to a website), but the fixed verb phrase for making a connection is iets linken aan (to link something to).
Why does this sentence use het blog? Don't English loanwords usually take de?
Most English loanwords do default to de, but blog is a notable exception where both de blog and het blog are completely correct. It often takes het because it originated from the word weblog, and Dutch speakers intuitively assign the neuter gender to it.
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