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Questions & Answers about Ik leg het kussen op de bank.
Why is “het kussen” used with “het” while “de bank” uses “de”?
Dutch nouns are assigned a grammatical gender. “Kussen” is a neuter noun, so it takes the definite article het, whereas “bank” is a common gender noun and uses de. This gender assignment is inherent in each noun and must be memorized.
What is the role of the preposition op in this sentence?
The preposition op means “on” in English. It specifies the spatial relation between the cushion and the bank, indicating that the cushion is being placed on top of the bank.
How is the verb leggen used here compared to the similar verb liggen?
Leggen is a transitive verb meaning “to put” or “to lay something down,” and it requires a direct object (in this case, het kussen). On the other hand, liggen is an intransitive verb that means “to lie” (as in being in a resting position) and does not take an object. Since the sentence involves actively placing an object, leggen is the appropriate choice.
How is the present tense form “leg” derived from the infinitive leggen?
In Dutch, you form the stem of many verbs by removing the “-en” from the infinitive. For leggen, this gives leg. When conjugated for the first person singular (with the subject ik), the verb becomes “ik leg.” Other forms, like “jij legt” or “hij legt,” follow a similar pattern with slight modifications.
What is the overall sentence structure of “Ik leg het kussen op de bank.”?
The sentence follows the typical Dutch main clause order. It starts with the subject ik, followed by the finite verb leg in second position. Next comes the direct object het kussen, and finally the prepositional phrase op de bank that indicates location. This structure is similar to the English subject–verb–object order, with the spatial detail added at the end.
How can I express that the action is currently in progress, similar to the English continuous tense?
Although Dutch doesn’t have a continuous tense like English, you can express an ongoing action using the structure aan het followed by the infinitive. For example, to say “I am putting the cushion on the bank” in Dutch, you would say “Ik ben het kussen aan het leggen.”