Breakdown of De hond van het meisje slaapt onder de stoel.
het meisje
the girl
de hond
the dog
slapen
to sleep
de stoel
the chair
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
onder
under, below
Questions & Answers about De hond van het meisje slaapt onder de stoel.
Why does the Dutch sentence say De hond van het meisje instead of using an 's like in English?
In Dutch, possession is very commonly shown using the preposition van (of), literally translating to the dog of the girl. While Dutch does have an 's for possession, using van is much more typical in everyday speech to show who owns something.
Why is it het meisje when a girl is a person? Shouldn't it use de?
All Dutch nouns ending in -je are diminutives (words for small things), and every diminutive is a het word. Even though a girl is a person, the strict grammatical rule for the -je ending takes priority.
The English translation says sleeps, but could slaapt also mean is sleeping?
Yes! Dutch does not generally use a separate is doing tense the same way English does. Depending on the context of the conversation, slaapt translates perfectly to both sleeps and is sleeping.
Does the preposition onder work exactly like the English word under?
Yes, when talking about physical locations like this, onder works exactly like the English word under or beneath.
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