Breakdown of Tientallen eenden trekken zuidwaarts.
tientallen
dozens / tens
zuidwaarts
southwards
de eend
the duck
Questions & Answers about Tientallen eenden trekken zuidwaarts.
Why is there no word for "of" in Tientallen eenden?
In English, we say "dozens of ducks", but in Dutch, indefinite numerals like tientallen, honderden, or duizenden act like regular numbers. Just as you say tien eenden (ten ducks) without using van (of), you put tientallen directly in front of the noun.
Since tien means ten, why does tientallen translate to "dozens"?
Tientallen literally means "tens". While English speakers naturally express this scale as "dozens", Dutch speakers group them by tens. The exact word for dozens, dozijnen, exists but is mostly used when items are literally packaged and sold in twelves.
Why use trekken for "migrate"? Doesn't that mean "to pull"?
Trekken does mean "to pull", but it also means "to travel" or "to move". For animal migration, trekken is the standard, everyday verb. You will also see this root in words like trekvogel (migratory bird). The verb migreren exists, but it sounds much more formal or scientific in Dutch.
How does the suffix -waarts work in zuidwaarts?
The suffix -waarts is the exact equivalent of the English "-wards", indicating a direction of movement. You can attach it to compass directions (noordwaarts, oostwaarts) and other spatial concepts to create adverbs like voorwaarts (forwards), achterwaarts (backwards), or huiswaarts (homewards).
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