Breakdown of Ik betaal met de betaalautomaat.
ik
I
met
with
betalen
to pay
de betaalautomaat
the payment machine
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Questions & Answers about Ik betaal met de betaalautomaat.
What does the preposition met indicate in this sentence?
Met translates to with in English. In this sentence, it shows the means or instrument used to perform the action—that is, I pay with the payment machine.
Why is the definite article de used before betaalautomaat?
Dutch nouns are either de-words (common gender) or het-words (neuter gender). In compound nouns, the gender is determined by the final element—in this case, automaat is a de-word, so the noun becomes de betaalautomaat. The definite article is used because the speaker refers to a specific payment machine known from context.
How is the compound noun betaalautomaat constructed?
The word is formed by combining betaal (from the verb betalen, meaning to pay) and automaat (meaning machine). This type of compound formation is common in Dutch where two words merge to create a new noun with a precise meaning—in this instance, a machine that handles payments.
What is the typical word order in a Dutch sentence like this, and how does it compare to English?
Dutch basic sentence structure usually follows a Subject–Verb–Complement format, much like English. In Ik betaal met de betaalautomaat, Ik (I) is the subject, betaal (pay) is the verb positioned in the second slot (a key rule in Dutch), and met de betaalautomaat functions as the complement, indicating the means by which the action is performed.
How is the verb betalen conjugated in this sentence, and what would its conjugation look like with different subjects?
For the first-person singular subject ik, the verb betalen becomes betaal. With other subjects, the conjugation changes: for example, jij betaalt (you pay) and hij/zij/het betaalt (he/she/it pays). This follows the regular present tense conjugation pattern for Dutch verbs.