Bloemenvaas staat naast de tafel.

the table

Breakdown of Bloemenvaas staat naast de tafel.

• staan: to stand
• naast: next to
• de bloemenvaas: the flower vase

Questions & Answers about Bloemenvaas staat naast de tafel.

Why is "bloemenvaas" written as one compound word, and does it function as a singular noun in Dutch?

In Dutch, compound nouns like bloemenvaas combine two words—bloemen (flowers) and vaas (vase)—into one word. Even though it looks like it contains two parts, it functions as a single noun referring to one item, namely, the flower vase.

What does the verb staat mean in this sentence, and why is it used with an inanimate object?

The verb staat is the third person singular present tense form of staan, which means "to stand" or "to be situated." In Dutch, objects—even inanimate ones—can use this form to indicate their location. So here, staat tells us that the flower vase is positioned next to the table.

How does the prepositional phrase naast de tafel function, and is there any special word order to note?

The phrase naast de tafel literally means "next to the table." Naast is the preposition meaning "next to," and de tafel means "the table." It functions as a locative expression that tells us where the bloemenvaas is situated. The word order is straightforward: subject (bloemenvaas), verb (staat), followed by the prepositional phrase.

Why is the article de used in de tafel, and can this article change with different nouns?

In Dutch, nouns are assigned genders along with their articles. De is the definite article used for common gender nouns. Here, tafel is a common gender noun, so it takes de. Some nouns are neuter and would take het instead. Learners typically have to memorize or learn the gender of each noun over time.

Is the sentence structure of "Bloemenvaas staat naast de tafel." similar to English, and what should learners be aware of?

Yes, the sentence structure is quite similar to English: it follows a subject-verb-prepositional phrase pattern ("The flower vase stands next to the table"). However, learners should keep in mind that Dutch often places the finite verb in the second position of the sentence, which can lead to different word orders in more complex sentences. In this simple sentence, though, the structure is very familiar to English speakers.