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Breakdown of Hij en Sofie lezen samen een boek.
Sofie
Sofie
hij
he
het boek
the book
lezen
to read
en
and
samen
together
Questions & Answers about Hij en Sofie lezen samen een boek.
Why does the sentence use Hij and not Hem?
In Dutch, Hij is the subject pronoun (he), while Hem is the object pronoun (him). Since this sentence identifies the subject who is performing the action (reading), Hij is correct.
Why do we say Hij en Sofie lezen and not Hij en Sofie lees?
In Dutch, when you have a plural subject (two people—Hij and Sofie), you use the plural form of the verb. Lezen is the plural form (they read), while lees is the singular form (I read or you read, singular).
What does samen mean?
Samen means together. It indicates that they are performing the action jointly.
How do I place samen correctly in a Dutch sentence?
The word samen usually goes after the verb or near it. For example:
• Hij en Sofie lezen samen een boek. (He and Sofie read a book together.)
You can also see it at the beginning or end in colloquial speech, but this structure is most common.
Why is een used here instead of het or de?
Een is the indefinite article (a or an). It implies that it’s just any book, not a specific one. De or het would indicate a definite book (the book).
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