Het tuinperceel hoort bij de tuinvereniging.

Because perceel is a het-word in Dutch, so the whole noun phrase takes het: het perceel, het tuinperceel.

In Dutch compounds, the article is determined by the last part of the compound:

• de tuin = the garden
• het perceel = the plot
• het tuinperceel = the garden plot

So even though tuin is a de-word, the full compound is het because perceel is het.

Tuinperceel is a compound noun:

• tuin = garden
• perceel = plot, parcel, piece of land

So tuinperceel means garden plot or plot of land used as a garden.

Dutch forms compounds very freely, much more than English sometimes does. So instead of saying something like a plot for a garden, Dutch often just joins the words together into one noun.

Here, hoort bij means something like:

• belongs to
• goes with
• is associated with
• is part of

This is from the verb horen bij, which is a fixed combination.

Important: this is not the verb horen meaning to hear in a literal listening sense. Dutch uses the same verb form, but in horen bij, the meaning is idiomatic: to belong with / to be connected to.

So Het tuinperceel hoort bij de tuinvereniging means the garden plot is connected with or belongs to the garden association.

Because the subject is singular: het tuinperceel.

The verb is horen, and in the present tense:

• ik hoor
• jij hoort / hoor
• hij/zij/het hoort
• wij/jullie/zij horen

Since het tuinperceel is grammatically singular, Dutch uses the singular form hoort.

Because vereniging is a de-word: de vereniging.

Again, in compounds, the final part decides the article:

• de vereniging = the association
• de tuinvereniging = the garden association / gardening association

So the full noun is de tuinvereniging.

On its own, bij often means at, with, by, or near, depending on the context.

But in this sentence, bij is part of the fixed expression horen bij. So you should learn it as one unit:

• horen bij = to belong to / to go with

So although bij has its usual prepositional meanings elsewhere, here the combination has a more specific meaning.

Yes, but the meaning shifts a little.

• hoort bij = belongs with, is part of, is associated with
• is van = is owned by / is someone’s

So:

• Het tuinperceel hoort bij de tuinvereniging suggests the plot is attached to or part of the garden association.
• Het tuinperceel is van de tuinvereniging focuses more directly on ownership.

They can overlap, but hoort bij often sounds a bit broader and more about relationship or classification, not just ownership.

Because Dutch often uses compound nouns where English may use of or separate words.

Examples:

• garden association instead of association of gardens
• garden plot instead of plot of garden land

This is very normal in Dutch. English does this too, but Dutch uses compounds even more often and more productively.

In a yes/no question, Dutch usually puts the verb first:

Hoort het tuinperceel bij de tuinvereniging?

That literally looks like:

• Hoort = belongs
• het tuinperceel = the garden plot
• bij de tuinvereniging = to/with the garden association

This verb-first order is very common in Dutch questions.

In a subordinate clause, the verb usually moves to the end:

... omdat het tuinperceel bij de tuinvereniging hoort.

So compare:

• Main clause: Het tuinperceel hoort bij de tuinvereniging.
• Subordinate clause: ... omdat het tuinperceel bij de tuinvereniging hoort.

This is a very important Dutch pattern: in subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb often comes later, frequently at the end.

Not exactly. Vereniging does mean association or club, but tuinvereniging usually refers to an organized gardening association, often connected with allotment gardens or shared garden plots.

So in this sentence, de tuinvereniging is probably an organization that manages or oversees garden plots, and the tuinperceel is one of those plots.

No. That would be a misleading literal translation.

Dutch often has verbs that appear familiar but take on different meanings in fixed combinations. Here:

• horen alone can mean to hear
• horen bij means to belong with / to go with

So it is best to memorize horen bij as a set expression rather than trying to build the meaning from the English verb hear.