Word
Waarmee knip je deze letter uit het papier?
Meaning
What do you cut this letter out of the paper with?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Waarmee knip je deze letter uit het papier?
waarmee
with what
het papier
the paper
knippen
to cut (with scissors)
de letter
the letter (of the alphabet)
Questions & Answers about Waarmee knip je deze letter uit het papier?
Why do we use waarmee instead of translating "with what" directly?
In Dutch, when you ask a question about a thing (not a person) using a preposition, you don't usually say met wat. Instead, you combine waar (where) with the preposition. So "with what" becomes waarmee.
If the Dutch word for "with" is met, why is it waarmee instead of waarmet?
A few prepositions change their spelling when they combine with words like waar, er, or hier. The preposition met always changes to mee in these combinations. You will also see this in words like ermee (with it) and hiermee (with this).
Could deze letter mean a letter I send in the mail?
No, letter in Dutch is a "false friend". It only means a letter of the alphabet (like A, B, or C). If you want to talk about a written letter that you mail to someone, you must use the word brief.
Why is the verb knip instead of knipt? Doesn't the je form get a -t?