Het schadeformulier bevat het polisnummer.

Because both schadeformulier and polisnummer are het-words in Dutch.

In Dutch, singular nouns usually take either:

• de
• het

Here:

• formulier is a het-word
• nummer is also a het-word

Since both nouns are compounds, the last part determines the article:

• schade + formulier → het schadeformulier
• polis + nummer → het polisnummer

So even though the first parts are different, the final noun decides the gender/article.

Because Dutch very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one single word.

So:

• schade
  • formulier → schadeformulier
• polis
  • nummer → polisnummer

This is much more common in Dutch than in English. Where English often uses separate words, Dutch often joins them into one compound noun.

A useful rule:

• In Dutch, if English has something like claim form, insurance policy number, train station, etc., Dutch will very often write it as one word.

It is made of:

• schade = damage, loss, claim
• formulier = form

So literally it is a damage form or claim form.

In real usage, it refers to a form used to report damage or make an insurance claim.

It is made of:

• polis = insurance policy
• nummer = number

So polisnummer means policy number.

A small warning for English speakers: polis in Dutch is not related to English police here. In this context, it is an insurance term.

Bevat is the present tense form of the verb bevatten, which means to contain.

In the present tense:

• ik bevat is not normally used much, because the verb is not very common with ik
• jij bevat
• hij/zij/het bevat
• u bevat
• wij bevatten
• jullie bevatten
• zij bevatten

In this sentence, the subject is het schadeformulier, which is singular, so Dutch uses the singular form bevat.

The -t ending is the normal present-tense ending for:

• hij
• zij
• het
• singular nouns

So:

• Het schadeformulier bevat ...

Because Dutch main clauses normally follow the verb-second rule.

That means the finite verb comes in the second position of the sentence.

Here the structure is:

• Het schadeformulier = subject
• bevat = finite verb
• het polisnummer = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + object

This is very normal Dutch word order in a simple main clause.

Yes. It is a very straightforward sentence.

The parts are:

• Het schadeformulier = subject
• bevat = verb
• het polisnummer = direct object

So yes, it matches a normal subject-verb-object pattern, even though Dutch grammar is often described with the verb-second rule.

In a simple sentence like this, both descriptions fit well.

Sometimes, but bevat is more precise here.

Compare:

• bevat = contains
• heeft = has

So:

• Het schadeformulier bevat het polisnummer = The claim form contains the policy number.
• Het schadeformulier heeft een polisnummer would sound more like the form itself has a policy number as one of its features, which is a slightly different idea.

If you want to say that information appears on or in a document, bevat is often a better choice.

Because nummer is a het-word.

A very useful rule for compounds is:

The last noun decides the gender/article.

So:

• nummer → het nummer
• therefore polisnummer → het polisnummer

Even if the first part were different, the article would still be determined by nummer.

For example:

• het telefoonnummer
• het klantnummer
• het polisnummer

All of these are het because nummer is the head noun.

Look at the last part of the compound.

That final part is the main noun, and it determines:

• the article (de or het)
• usually the plural pattern as well
• often the basic grammatical behavior of the whole compound

So in this sentence:

• schadeformulier → final part is formulier → het schadeformulier
• polisnummer → final part is nummer → het polisnummer

This rule is extremely useful in Dutch.

Yes, mainly the articles would change.

Definite:

• Het schadeformulier bevat het polisnummer.

Indefinite:

• Een schadeformulier bevat een polisnummer.

So:

• het = the
• een = a/an

The rest of the sentence stays the same.

The plural would change both the noun and the verb.

Singular:

• Het schadeformulier bevat het polisnummer.

Plural:

• De schadeformulieren bevatten de polisnummers.

Changes:

• het schadeformulier → de schadeformulieren
• bevat → bevatten
• het polisnummer → de polisnummers

Notice that in the plural, Dutch uses de for both of these nouns.

Yes, several good Dutch patterns appear here:

1. Compound nouns are usually written as one word

   • schadeformulier
   • polisnummer

2. The last part of a compound determines the article

   • formulier → het
   • nummer → het

3. Main clauses usually place the finite verb second

   • Het schadeformulier bevat ...

4. Dutch often uses a specific verb like bevatten where English might use a more general verb

So this short sentence is actually a very good example of several core Dutch grammar habits.