Word
Hij leent mijn boek.
Meaning
He borrows my book.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Hij leent mijn boek.
What does "Hij" mean, and what role does it play in the sentence?
"Hij" means "he". It is the subject of the sentence, indicating who is performing the action.
Why is the verb leent spelled with a -t at the end?
In Dutch, when conjugating a regular verb in the present tense for the third person singular (he/she/it), you add a -t to the stem. Thus, for "Hij", the verb "lenen" becomes "leent."
What does lenen mean in this sentence, and how might that confuse native English speakers?
In this context, "lenen" means "to borrow." This can be confusing because in English the word "lend" means "to give something temporarily" rather than "to borrow." To clearly express "to lend" in Dutch, one would typically say "uitlenen."
What is the function of "mijn" in the sentence?
"Mijn" is a possessive adjective that means "my." It indicates ownership, showing that the book belongs to the speaker.
Why does the sentence follow a Subject-Verb-Object order, and how does that compare to English?