Breakdown of De zangeres zingt een mooi lied.
mooi
beautiful
zingen
to sing
het lied
the song
de zangeres
the singer
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Questions & Answers about De zangeres zingt een mooi lied.
Why is the adjective mooi not inflected with an -e ending in the sentence?
In Dutch, when an adjective directly modifies a neuter singular noun that follows an indefinite article, it remains in its base form. Since lied is a neuter noun (a het-word) and is preceded by een, the adjective mooi stays uninflected. If the noun were a common gender word or if the article were definite, the adjective would typically take an -e ending.
What does zangeres mean, and does its form indicate gender?
Zangeres means "singer" and specifically refers to a female singer. Dutch often marks gender in certain nouns—here, the feminine form zangeres contrasts with the masculine zanger, clearly indicating that the subject of the sentence is female.
How is the verb zingt formed from its infinitive, and why does it have a -t ending?
Zingt is the third person singular present tense form of zingen (to sing). In Dutch, when conjugating for he, she, or it, the verb stem typically gains a -t ending. Since De zangeres functions as a third person singular subject, adding -t results in zingt.
What is the basic sentence structure of "De zangeres zingt een mooi lied," and how does it compare to English word order?
The sentence follows a classic Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order: De zangeres is the subject, zingt is the verb, and een mooi lied is the object. This structure closely mirrors that of simple declarative sentences in English.
Why does the sentence use the definite article de with zangeres and the indefinite article een with lied?
The definite article de is used with zangeres because it refers to a specific, identifiable person—the known singer in context. In contrast, een is an indefinite article (similar to "a" in English) used with lied, indicating that the song is not a specific one previously mentioned or known.
How does grammatical gender affect the use of adjectives and articles in this sentence?
Grammatical gender in Dutch determines both article selection and adjective agreement. Zangeres is a common gender noun and takes the definite article de, while lied is a neuter noun and takes the indefinite article een. Additionally, because lied is neuter and is modified by an adjective in an indefinite context, the adjective mooi remains uninflected. Recognizing these gender distinctions is crucial for correctly forming phrases in Dutch.