Breakdown of Ik lees de nieuwe versie van het boek.
ik
I
het boek
the book
lezen
to read
nieuw
new
van
of
de versie
the version
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Questions & Answers about Ik lees de nieuwe versie van het boek.
Why is the verb in the form lees and not something like leest?
Because lees is the first‑person singular present tense of lezen, used with ik. The third‑person singular (hij/zij) form would be leest.
How do you express the English present continuous “I am reading” in Dutch?
Dutch uses the simple present for both “I read” and “I am reading.” So Ik lees can mean either. If you want to stress the ongoing action, you can say Ik ben het boek aan het lezen (literally “I am the book reading”).
Why does nieuw get an -e ending in de nieuwe versie, but stay nieuw in een nieuw boek?
In Dutch, adjectives get an -e when they come before a noun with a definite article (de/het) or in the plural. With an indefinite article before a neuter noun (as in een nieuw boek) the adjective remains uninflected.
How do I know whether a noun takes de or het, as in de nieuwe versie vs het boek?
Dutch divides nouns into common gender (de) and neuter (het). There are patterns (diminutives are always het, many nouns ending in -ing, -heid, -schap are de, etc.), but you often have to learn the article with the word or check a dictionary.
Why is it van het boek and not van boek or van de boek?
To express “of the book” you use van plus the correct definite article. Because boek is neuter, it must be van het boek. You cannot drop or replace the article in such genitive constructions for common nouns.
Does Dutch have a genitive case like English “book’s version”?
No, Dutch does not use an ’s‑genitive for common nouns. You always use van, so you say de versie van het boek (“the version of the book”). The ’s‑form appears only in set phrases or with proper names, not ordinary nouns.
Why is it de nieuwe versie and not een nieuwe versie here?
Using the definite article de signals you’re referring to a specific, known version (“the new version”). If you wanted to say “a new version,” you would indeed use een nieuwe versie.