Ik speel gitaar in het park.

I play guitar in the park.

Breakdown of Ik speel gitaar in het park.

• ik: I
• in: in
• het park: the park
• spelen: to play
• de gitaar: the guitar

Questions & Answers about Ik speel gitaar in het park.

What does Ik mean in this sentence?

Ik is the Dutch first-person singular pronoun, which translates to I in English.

How is the verb speel formed and what does it indicate?

Speel is the first-person singular present tense form of the verb spelen, meaning to play. It agrees with the subject Ik and indicates that the speaker is performing the action.

Why is there no article before gitaar?

In Dutch, when referring to playing a musical instrument, it’s common to omit the article. So instead of saying “the guitar,” you simply say gitaar. This usage is similar to how English speakers often say “I play guitar” without a definite article.

What is the function of in het park, and why is the article het used?

In het park is a prepositional phrase that tells us where the action is taking place – in this case, the park. The noun park is neuter in Dutch, and neuter nouns typically take the definite article het.

How does the sentence structure compare with that of English?

The basic word order in the sentence is very similar to English: it follows a subject-verb-object pattern, with a location phrase added at the end. However, learners should note that while English often uses an article with instruments (the guitar), Dutch usually omits it when discussing playing an instrument.