Breakdown of De baasjes hebben een stuk of tien zakken vertrouwd voer meegenomen.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
tien
ten
het stuk
the piece
meenemen
to take along / to bring
of
or
de zak
the pocket
het voer
the animal food
het baasje
the owner (of a pet)
vertrouwd
familiar
Questions & Answers about De baasjes hebben een stuk of tien zakken vertrouwd voer meegenomen.
How would we say "the owners' food" using the colloquial possessive structure we are currently learning?
For a plural possessor like de baasjes, the colloquial structure uses hun. So you would say de baasjes hun voer. Keep in mind that while this is very common in spoken Dutch, it is considered incorrect in formal writing (where you would usually say het voer van de baasjes).
How does the phrase een stuk of tien work?
The phrase een stuk of [number] is a very common idiomatic way to say "about" or "roughly" that number. Even though it contains the singular word stuk (piece), the whole phrase acts as a fixed quantifier describing the plural noun zakken (bags).
Why doesn't the adjective vertrouwd get an -e ending here?
Voer (animal food) is a het-word. When a het-word is indefinite (meaning there is no het, dit, or dat directly in front of it), the adjective does not get an -e ending. Since we are talking about an unspecified amount of food here, it remains vertrouwd voer.
Why use the diminutive baasjes instead of the normal plural bazen for "owners"?
In Dutch, pet owners are specifically and affectionately referred to as baasjes. If you used the standard plural bazen, it would sound like you were talking about managers or employers at a company.
Learn De baasjes hebben een stuk of tien zakken vertrouwd voer meegenomen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free