Mijn buurman schildert de muur oranje, want hij houdt van felle kleuren.

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Breakdown of Mijn buurman schildert de muur oranje, want hij houdt van felle kleuren.

• want: because
• mijn: my
• de muur: the wall
• schilderen: to paint
• de kleur: the color
• de buurman: the neighbor
• oranje: orange
• houden van: to love
• fel: bright

Questions & Answers about Mijn buurman schildert de muur oranje, want hij houdt van felle kleuren.

What does the verb schildert mean, and why is it in the form it is?

Schildert is the third-person singular present tense of the verb schilderen, which means “to paint.” It is used here because the sentence describes an action the neighbour is currently doing or does habitually.

Why is the adjective oranje placed after de muur instead of before it?

In Dutch, when describing the new state or appearance resulting from an action (in this case, the wall after being painted), the adjective oranje is positioned after the noun. This resultative construction directly links the action with the outcome, much like saying “paints the wall orange” in English.

What is the role of want in this sentence?

Want is a coordinating conjunction that means “because.” It connects the first clause, which describes what the neighbour is doing, with the second clause, which provides the reason for his action—namely, that he loves bright colors.

How does oranje function in this sentence, and why is it not capitalized?

Here, oranje functions as an adjective that describes the new color of the wall. In Dutch, adjectives remain lowercase unless they are the first word of a sentence. Therefore, despite being a color adjective, it is not capitalized.

Why is there no preposition or article before oranje when describing the wall’s color?

In Dutch, when an adjective indicates the resulting state of an object after an action (as in schildert de muur oranje), no preposition or article is required before the adjective. The color adjective directly complements the noun to show the transformation.

What does the phrase felle kleuren mean, and why is it used in the sentence?

Felle kleuren translates to “bright colors.” It explains why the neighbour chose to paint the wall orange—because he has a preference for vivid or bold hues. The adjective felle is in its plural form to agree with kleuren, emphasizing his general liking for such colors.