Questions & Answers about De docent is boos op de student.
Why do we use op here instead of a literal translation for "with"?
Just like many verbs, some adjectives have fixed prepositions in Dutch. To say you are "angry with" or "angry at" someone, Dutch always uses boos op (literally "angry on"). You just have to memorize this fixed combination!
Doesn't "teacher" usually translate to leraar? Why use docent here?
Both leraar and docent mean "teacher". Docent is slightly more formal and is mostly used for teachers in high schools, colleges, and universities. Leraar is the more general term and is standard for primary school teachers.
Does student apply to any student, just like in English?
Not quite! In Dutch, a student specifically refers to someone studying at a university or college. If the teacher were angry at a child or teenager in primary or high school, the sentence would use leerling (pupil) instead.
Why is it boos and not boze? I thought adjectives get an -e added to them.
You only add an -e when the adjective comes directly before the noun it describes (for example: de boze docent). Because the adjective in this sentence comes later in the sentence, separated by the verb is, it stays in its basic form (boos).
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