Negentien mensen betalen.

Because the subject is plural: negentien mensen = nineteen people.

In the Dutch present tense:

• ik betaal
• jij/u betaalt
• hij/zij betaalt
• wij betalen
• jullie betalen
• zij betalen

A plural subject takes the plural verb form, which is the same as the infinitive here: betalen.

So:

• één mens betaalt = one person pays
• negentien mensen betalen = nineteen people pay

Because mensen is the plural form of mens.

• mens = person / human
• mensen = people

Since the sentence is talking about nineteen people, Dutch uses the plural noun:

• negentien mens ❌
• negentien mensen ✅

Dutch usually does not use an article when a noun is directly preceded by a number.

So just like in English you say nineteen people, Dutch says:

• negentien mensen

Not:

• de negentien mensen unless you specifically mean the nineteen people
• negentien de mensen ❌

If you wanted to say the nineteen people pay, then you would say:

• de negentien mensen betalen

It can mean both, depending on context.

Dutch present tense often covers both:

• English pay
• English are paying

So Negentien mensen betalen could mean:

• Nineteen people pay
• Nineteen people are paying

The surrounding context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes. This is standard Dutch main-clause word order:

subject + verb

• Negentien mensen = subject
• betalen = verb

So the sentence follows a very basic pattern:

• De man loopt.
• Twee kinderen spelen.
• Negentien mensen betalen.

This is the normal order for a simple statement.

Negentien means nineteen.

It is built from:

• negen = nine
• tien = ten

Historically and structurally, it is like nine-teen, just as in English.

Other similar numbers:

• dertien = thirteen
• veertien = fourteen
• vijftien = fifteen
• zestien = sixteen
• zeventien = seventeen
• achttien = eighteen
• negentien = nineteen

Mensen is pronounced roughly like MEN-suh(n).

A few useful notes:

• The first syllable is stressed: MEN
• The e in the second syllable is a weak uh sound
• The final -n may be lightly pronounced or barely heard in casual speech

So for an English speaker, MEN-suh is a helpful approximation.

Yes, but the tone is a little different.

• mensen = people, the everyday normal word
• personen = persons, more formal or official

So:

• Negentien mensen betalen sounds natural in everyday Dutch.
• Negentien personen betalen is possible, but sounds more formal, administrative, or written.

In most ordinary situations, mensen is the better choice.

Yes. Betalen often has an object, because you usually pay something or pay for something.

Examples:

• Negentien mensen betalen de rekening. = Nineteen people pay the bill.
• Negentien mensen betalen voor het eten. = Nineteen people pay for the food.

But Dutch can also use betalen without stating exactly what is being paid, if that is already understood from context. That is what happens in Negentien mensen betalen.

Yes. The singular is mens, and the normal plural is mensen.

This is an irregular plural, so you cannot just add -en mechanically and expect mensen from mens by simple spelling rules alone; it is simply the correct plural form to learn.

So:

• de mens = the human / the person
• de mensen = the people

In everyday Dutch, mensen is extremely common.