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Questions & Answers about Ik zie de rekening op de tafel.
What is the verb in this sentence, and what tense is it?
The main verb is zie, which is the present tense form of zien (to see). It directly translates to "see" in English, meaning "I see."
What does the noun rekening mean in this context?
In this sentence, rekening typically means "bill" or "invoice"—the statement of charges you receive at a restaurant or store. While rekening can also mean "account" in other contexts, the surrounding words indicate it’s referring to a bill.
Why is the definite article de used with rekening instead of het?
Dutch nouns are gendered, and rekening is a common gender noun, which takes the definite article de. In Dutch, common gender nouns use de, whereas neuter nouns use het. This classification has to be memorized with each noun.
What role does the prepositional phrase op de tafel play in the sentence?
The phrase op de tafel is an adverbial phrase indicating location—it tells you where the bill is located, which in this case is "on the table." Its placement at the end of the sentence is typical for locational phrases in Dutch.
Is this word order typical for Dutch, and can it be altered for emphasis?
Yes, the word order here follows the standard Dutch Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure with the location added at the end. Although you can front elements for emphasis (for example, Op de tafel zie ik de rekening to stress the location), such variations still respect the verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses.