Breakdown of Ik drink warme thee met suiker.
ik
I
drinken
to drink
met
with
warm
warm
de thee
the tea
de suiker
the sugar
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Questions & Answers about Ik drink warme thee met suiker.
What does the sentence "Ik drink warme thee met suiker" mean in English?
It translates to "I drink warm tea with sugar." The sentence tells us that the speaker consumes tea that is both warm and sweetened with sugar.
What is the grammatical structure of this sentence?
The structure follows a typical Dutch subject-verb-object order. "Ik" is the subject (I), "drink" is the verb (drink), "warme thee" is the direct object (warm tea), and "met suiker" is a prepositional phrase indicating accompaniment (with sugar).
Why is the adjective "warm" written as "warme" before the noun "thee"?
In Dutch, when an adjective comes before a common gender singular noun, it typically takes an -e ending. Here, "warm" becomes "warme" to agree with the noun "thee." This is a standard rule for attributive adjectives in Dutch.
Why is there no article before the noun "thee"?
In this sentence, "thee" is used as a mass noun referring to tea in a general sense, much like in English when we say "I drink tea" instead of "I drink the tea." This usage means no article is needed.
What does the preposition "met" indicate in the sentence?
The preposition "met" means "with" in English. It connects the drink to an additional ingredient—sugar—showing that sugar is mixed into the tea.
How is the verb form "drink" used in this sentence, and what does it tell us about Dutch verb conjugation?
The form "drink" is the first person singular present tense of the verb "drinken." In Dutch, regular verbs often drop the -en ending when conjugated for "ik" (I), so "drinken" becomes "drink."