De koe eet.

In Dutch, every noun has a grammatical gender category that determines its article. Koe is a de-word, so you say de koe.

There is no simple rule that lets you predict the article for every noun, so it often has to be learned together with the noun:

• de koe = the cow
• het paard = the horse

A useful habit is to memorize nouns with their article from the start.

Because the subject is de koe, which is third person singular: he/she/it.

The verb here is eten (to eat). In the present tense, Dutch often works like this:

• ik eet = I eat
• jij eet = you eat
• hij/zij/het eet = he/she/it eats

Since de koe is singular and behaves like it/she, the correct form is eet.

Yes. It is the simple present.

Depending on context, Dutch present tense can translate into English in more than one way:

• The cow eats.
• The cow is eating.

Dutch often uses the simple present where English might prefer either eats or is eating. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

The sentence follows the normal Dutch main-clause word order:

subject + verb

• De koe = subject
• eet = verb

This is the same basic pattern as in simple English sentences like The cow eats.

Not as a normal statement.

Eet de koe? would usually be a question, meaning something like Is the cow eating? or Does the cow eat?

Dutch main clauses often put the verb first in yes/no questions:

• De koe eet. = The cow eats.
• Eet de koe? = Is the cow eating? / Does the cow eat?

So word order changes the sentence type.

Koe is pronounced roughly like coo in English, but with a Dutch vowel quality.

A few useful points:

• oe in Dutch usually sounds like English oo in food
• So koe sounds approximately like koo

Also:

• de is usually pronounced like duh
• eet sounds somewhat like ate, but with a pure long vowel, not an English diphthong

Because in Dutch spelling, oe normally represents the sound /u/, which is similar to the vowel in English food.

Some common examples:

• koe = cow
• boek = book
• voet = foot

So for English speakers, it helps to remember:

Dutch oe = English-like oo

Koe is a singular countable noun.

That means:

• it refers to one animal
• it can have a plural form
• it can be used with an article

For example:

• de koe = the cow
• een koe = a cow
• de koeien = the cows

The plural is koeien, which is worth learning because it changes a bit from the singular form.

Yes. De is used for:

• most singular common-gender nouns
• all plural nouns

So:

• de koe = the cow
• de koeien = the cows

This is one reason de appears very often in Dutch.

Yes, grammatically it is correct.

• De koe eet. = The cow eats.
• Een koe eet. = A cow eats.

The difference is that de refers to a specific cow or a cow already known in context, while een introduces a non-specific cow.

Yes, it can stand alone.

Just like in English, eten (to eat) can be used intransitively, meaning the object can be left unstated if it is obvious or unimportant.

So all of these are possible:

• De koe eet. = The cow is eating.
• De koe eet gras. = The cow eats grass.

The short sentence is completely natural.

In modern Dutch for everyday learning, the most important thing is that koe is a de-word, not a het-word.

Historically and grammatically, koe is feminine, but in most modern Dutch teaching, learners usually focus first on:

• de nouns
• het nouns

So the practical takeaway is simply:

koe takes de, and with pronouns you may sometimes see ze/zij used for it if the animal is treated as feminine or as a real animal rather than just an object.