Wij lezen de vijftiende pagina.

Breakdown of Wij lezen de vijftiende pagina.

wij
we
lezen
to read
de pagina
the page
vijftiende
fifteenth

Questions & Answers about Wij lezen de vijftiende pagina.

Can I say we instead of wij?

Yes. We and wij both mean we.

  • we is the common unstressed form in everyday Dutch.
  • wij is the full form and is often used for extra emphasis or in a slightly more careful style.

So We lezen de vijftiende pagina is also correct and very natural.

Why is the verb lezen and not leest?

Because the subject is wij. In the present tense, wij normally takes the same form as the infinitive.

For lezen:

  • ik lees
  • jij/u leest
  • hij/zij leest
  • wij lezen
  • jullie lezen
  • zij lezen

So wij lezen is the correct form.

Does Wij lezen mean we read or we are reading?

It can mean both. The Dutch present tense often covers both ideas:

  • we read
  • we are reading

Context usually tells you which meaning is intended. If you want to make the ongoing action extra clear, Dutch can also say:

But the simple present Wij lezen... is completely normal.

Why is it de and not het?

Because pagina is a de-word. In Dutch, singular nouns take either de or het, and this is something you usually have to learn with each noun.

So:

  • de pagina = the page

There is no reliable way to guess this from English, so it is best to memorize the noun together with its article.

How is vijftiende formed?

Vijftiende is the ordinal form of vijftien.

  • vijftien = fifteen
  • vijftiende = fifteenth

Dutch ordinal numbers are often made with endings like -de or -ste. Here it is:

  • vijftien
    • -de → vijftiende

So it works similarly to English fifteen → fifteenth.

Why does vijftiende end in -e here?

Because ordinal numbers used before a noun behave like adjectives in Dutch. In that position, they normally appear with -e.

Examples:

  • de vijftiende pagina
  • de eerste dag
  • het tweede hoofdstuk

So the -e is part of the normal form used before a noun.

What is the word order in this sentence?

This sentence has the basic Dutch main-clause order:

  • Wij = subject
  • lezen = finite verb
  • de vijftiende pagina = object

So the pattern is subject + verb + object.

More generally, Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second rule. That means the finite verb comes second in the sentence:

  • Wij lezen de vijftiende pagina.
  • Vandaag lezen wij de vijftiende pagina.

In the second sentence, Vandaag comes first, so lezen still stays in second position.

How do you pronounce vijftiende?

A rough English-style approximation is VAYF-teen-duh, but that is only approximate.

A few points:

  • ij does not have an exact English equivalent.
  • vijf sounds roughly like vafe, but with a Dutch vowel.
  • the final -de is usually a weak duh sound.

The best way to learn it is by listening to native audio, because English spelling cannot represent it very accurately.

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