Breakdown of De fiets van de leraar staat achter de school.
de fiets
the bicycle
staan
to stand
de school
the school
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
achter
behind
de leraar
the teacher (schoolteacher)
Questions & Answers about De fiets van de leraar staat achter de school.
Why does the sentence use staat (stands) instead of is?
In Dutch, we rarely use zijn (to be) to say where a physical object is. Instead, we describe its position. Because a bicycle rests upright on its wheels or a kickstand, we say it stands (staat).
Can I say de leraars fiets instead of de fiets van de leraar?
You might occasionally see an -s added to names for possession, but using van (of) is much more common and sounds more natural for regular nouns. It translates literally as the bicycle of the teacher.
Is achter always used for physical location like in this sentence?
In this lesson about location, achter means behind in a physical space. However, you will also see it used for time later on, meaning after. Here, it clearly points to the physical place where the bicycle is parked.
What happens to the word order if I start the sentence with the location?
If you want to emphasize the location and start with Achter de school, the verb and the entire subject must swap places. The sentence becomes: Achter de school staat de fiets van de leraar.
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