De volkstuin ligt op het tuincomplex.

Dutch nouns have grammatical gender, and that affects the definite article:

• de is used with common-gender singular nouns and with all plural nouns
• het is used with neuter singular nouns

In this sentence:

• volkstuin is a de-word → de volkstuin
• tuincomplex is a het-word → het tuincomplex

Unfortunately, this often has to be learned with each noun. There are some patterns, but many nouns just need to be memorized together with their article.

Volkstuin is a compound noun:

• volk = people
• tuin = garden

In actual usage, volkstuin usually refers to an allotment garden or a garden plot rented or used by private people, often on a larger shared site.

So it is not just any garden. It usually suggests a small private garden space that is part of a bigger organized area.

Tuincomplex is also a compound noun:

• tuin = garden
• complex = complex / site / group of buildings or spaces

So tuincomplex means something like:

• garden complex
• garden site
• allotment site

It refers to the larger area where multiple individual gardens are located.

In Dutch, liggen is very commonly used to talk about the location of places and things. Here, ligt is the third-person singular form of liggen.

So:

• De volkstuin ligt op het tuincomplex literally uses lies
• but in natural English it often corresponds to is located or simply is

Dutch often prefers verbs like:

• liggen = to lie / be situated
• staan = to stand
• zitten = to sit / be in or attached somewhere

For locations of places, liggen is very common.

Dutch prepositions do not always match English ones exactly.

Here, op is used because a tuincomplex is thought of as a site, area, or grounds. In Dutch, you often use op for being on a site, property, terrain, campus, or grounds.

So:

• op het tuincomplex = on the garden complex / on the allotment site

If you used in, it would suggest being inside something more literally, like inside a building or enclosed space. That is why op sounds more natural here.

The word order is the standard Dutch main-clause order:

• De volkstuin = subject
• ligt = finite verb
• op het tuincomplex = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + rest

That is the normal word order for a simple statement in Dutch.

Yes. Dutch very often writes compound nouns as one word, where English might use:

• two words
• a hyphen
• or a different structure altogether

So:

• volkstuin = one word
• tuincomplex = one word

This is extremely common in Dutch. A good habit is to look for the smaller parts inside the compound, because that often helps you understand or remember the word.

Approximate pronunciation:

• volkstuin ≈ VOLK-stowyn
• tuincomplex ≈ TOWYN-kom-pleks

A few important pronunciation points:

• ui is a difficult Dutch vowel sound that does not exist exactly in English
• g in Dutch is often a throaty sound, but there is no g in these two words
• eu is not present here either, so the main tricky part is really ui

The stress is usually:

• VOLKstuin
• TUINcomplex

Yes. In Dutch, verbs like liggen, staan, and zitten are often used much more broadly than their literal English meanings.

So liggen does not necessarily mean something is physically lying flat in a human sense. It often just means:

• to be situated
• to be located

For places such as cities, villages, fields, gardens, and islands, liggen is very common.

Yes, grammatically that is possible, but it changes the meaning.

• De volkstuin ligt op het tuincomplex refers to a specific allotment garden and a specific garden complex
• Een volkstuin ligt op een tuincomplex sounds more general: an allotment garden is located on a garden complex

So the original sentence is definite and specific.

The plurals are:

• de volkstuin → de volkstuinen
• het tuincomplex → de tuincomplexen

Notice:

• plural nouns always take de
• volkstuin gets -en
• tuincomplex becomes complexen, so the whole compound becomes tuincomplexen

Examples:

• De volkstuinen liggen op het tuincomplex.
• De volkstuinen liggen op de tuincomplexen.

Yes, depending on context.

The sentence is grammatical, but native speakers might also say things like:

• De volkstuin ligt op een volkstuincomplex.
• De volkstuin bevindt zich op het tuincomplex.
• De volkstuin is op het tuincomplex.

Notes:

• bevindt zich is a bit more formal and means is situated
• is is simpler but less specifically locational than ligt
• volkstuincomplex may be more precise if the site is specifically for allotment gardens

So the original sentence is fine, but there are alternative ways to express the same idea.

Yes, a few things:

1. Learn the article with the noun

   • de volkstuin
   • het tuincomplex

2. Do not translate prepositions too literally

   • Dutch op may correspond to English on, at, or sometimes part of located on a site

3. Remember that Dutch uses location verbs differently

   • ligt often means is located

4. Expect compounds to be one word

   • volkstuin
   • tuincomplex

Those are all very common patterns in Dutch.