……
Breakdown of De huurder woont in een oud huis.
in
in
het huis
the house
oud
old
wonen
to live
de huurder
the tenant
Questions & Answers about De huurder woont in een oud huis.
What does the word huurder mean in English?
The noun huurder translates to tenant in English. It refers to someone who rents a property rather than owning it.
How is the verb woont formed, and why is it used in this sentence?
Woont is the third person singular present tense form of the verb wonen (to live). Since huurder (tenant) is a singular subject, the verb is correctly conjugated as woont to agree with it.
Why is the definite article de used before huurder instead of het or an indefinite article?
In Dutch, most nouns that are of the common gender take the definite article de. Huurder is one of those common gender nouns. Even though the sentence might also have indefinite forms, in this context the use of de indicates a specific or generic tenant rather than just any tenant (which would use een).
Why does the adjective oud appear without an -e ending in een oud huis?
In Dutch, when an adjective comes before a neuter noun (like huis) that is preceded by the indefinite article een, the adjective generally remains in its basic form without the -e ending. If the noun were definite (for example, het oude huis), the adjective would receive an -e ending for agreement.
What is the function of the prepositional phrase in een oud huis in the sentence?
The prepositional phrase in een oud huis acts as an adverbial phrase that indicates location. It tells us where the tenant lives, much like the locative phrase in the English sentence, "The tenant lives in an old house."
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Dutch grammar?”
Dutch grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning DutchMaster Dutch — from De huurder woont in een oud huis to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions