Breakdown of Ik leg de doos naast de tafel.
ik
I
de tafel
the table
naast
next to
leggen
to put
de doos
the box
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Questions & Answers about Ik leg de doos naast de tafel.
What does the sentence "Ik leg de doos naast de tafel" mean, and how does its word order compare to English?
It means "I place the box next to the table." In Dutch, the typical structure for a main clause is subject–verb–object–adverbial (or prepositional phrase). Here, "Ik" (I) is the subject, "leg" is the verb, "de doos" is the object, and "naast de tafel" specifies the location. This order closely mirrors the English sentence structure.
Why is the verb form "leg" used in this sentence?
"Leg" is the first person singular present tense form of the irregular verb "leggen," which means "to place" or "to lay." Dutch verbs conjugate according to the subject, so for "Ik" (I), "leggen" becomes "leg."
What is the function of "naast" in this sentence?
"Naast" is a preposition that means "next to" or "beside." It indicates the spatial relationship between the box ("de doos") and the table ("de tafel"), showing where the box is being placed relative to the table.
Why do both "doos" and "tafel" use the article "de" instead of "het"?
In Dutch, nouns are assigned genders, and most common gender nouns take the definite article "de." Both "doos" (box) and "tafel" (table) are common gender nouns, so they correctly use "de" in their singular forms.
Is there a difference between using "leggen" and "zetten" when describing the act of placing an object? Why is "leggen" chosen here?
Yes, there is a subtle difference. In Dutch, "leggen" is generally used when placing an object in a horizontal position, whereas "zetten" is used for positioning an object upright. The sentence uses "leggen" because it implies that the box is being placed in a way that it lies down next to the table.