Het geld ligt in de nieuwe kamer.

The money is lying in the new room.

Breakdown of Het geld ligt in de nieuwe kamer.

• in: in
• nieuw: new
• liggen: to lie
• de kamer: the room
• het geld: the money

Questions & Answers about Het geld ligt in de nieuwe kamer.

Why does the sentence use 'ligt' instead of 'is'?

In Dutch, verbs like liggen, zitten, and staan often indicate specific positions or arrangements, rather than simply using zijn (is/are). Ligt suggests the money is lying somewhere, emphasizing its position.

What is the function of 'het' before 'geld'?

Het is the definite article in Dutch for neuter nouns, similar to the in English. It specifies that we’re talking about a particular sum of money, not just any money.

Why does the adjective 'nieuwe' come before 'kamer'?

In Dutch, as in English, attributive adjectives (those describing a noun directly) normally come before the noun. Nieuwe modifies kamer, so it is placed directly before it, meaning “the new room.”

Why is 'de' used before 'nieuwe kamer' when earlier we used 'het' for 'geld'?

In Dutch, nouns can be of either de or het gender. Geld is a neuter noun (het-geld), while kamer is a common gender noun (de-kamer). Therefore, we say de kamer rather than het kamer.

Can I omit 'in' or use another preposition?

If you say Het geld ligt de nieuwe kamer, that wouldn’t be correct. You need in to indicate location inside the room. Other prepositions (like op or bij) would change the meaning. Op suggests “on top of something in the room,” and bij means “near” or “by,” so in is the most direct way to say “inside the room.”