Word
We noemen dit gedrag kuddegedrag.
Meaning
We call this behavior herd behavior.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of We noemen dit gedrag kuddegedrag.
dit
this (neuter)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
het gedrag
the behavior
noemen
to call, to name
Questions & Answers about We noemen dit gedrag kuddegedrag.
Why do we use dit instead of deze before gedrag?
Because gedrag (behavior) is a het-word (het gedrag). When using demonstrative pronouns for singular het-words, you must use dit (this) or dat (that). You only use deze and die for de-words and all plurals. Even at level B2, this is a common thing to mix up, so it is always good to quickly double-check your noun genders when encountering them in texts!
Do I need a linking word like als (as) when using noemen (to call) here?
No, you do not. Just like in English, noemen can directly connect two noun phrases: the thing you are naming (dit gedrag) and the name you give it (kuddegedrag). You simply put them side by side in the sentence without needing extra prepositions like als or voor.
Why is the compound noun kuddegedrag spelled without a linking 'n' (like in pannenkoek)?
The word is a combination of kudde (herd) and gedrag (behavior). In Dutch spelling, you usually only add a linking -n- between nouns if the plural of the first noun ends only in -en. Because the plural of kudde can be both kudden and kuddes, it does not get the extra 'n'. It just keeps its original 'e' at the end.