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Questions & Answers about Lezen geeft veel plezier.
What form is lezen in, and how can an infinitive serve as the subject of a Dutch sentence?
In Dutch you can use the infinitive as if it were a noun—similar to an English gerund (reading). Here lezen (to read/reading) functions as the subject. There’s no need for an article or nominalizing suffix; the infinitive itself takes the role of the noun.
Why is the verb geeft in the singular?
Because the grammatical subject lezen is treated as a singular concept. Even though it ends like a plural-looking form, it’s actually an infinitive-noun and thus takes the third-person singular form geeft (gives).
Why is there no article before veel plezier? Could I say een plezier?
Plezier (pleasure/fun) is an uncountable, abstract noun here. With veel (much/a lot of), you simply say veel plezier. Saying een plezier would treat plezier as countable—possible in special contexts (e.g. Dat was een plezier om te doen), but not when speaking of the general enjoyment one gets from reading.
What exactly does veel plezier mean in this context?
Literally veel plezier = “a lot of pleasure,” but idiomatically “much fun” or “great enjoyment.” So Lezen geeft veel plezier translates naturally as Reading is a lot of fun or Reading gives great enjoyment.
Could I use a different verb instead of geeft, like brengt or heeft?
- Brengt (brings) is possible: Lezen brengt veel plezier also works but emphasizes “brings” rather than “gives.”
- Heeft (has) doesn’t suit here, because you’re not saying that lezen “has pleasure,” but that it “gives” or “brings” pleasure to someone.
What’s the difference between Lezen geeft veel plezier and Lezen is leuk?
- Lezen geeft veel plezier focuses on the result: “Reading gives (you) much enjoyment.”
- Lezen is leuk simply states “Reading is fun.”
Both are correct; the first highlights the source of pleasure, the second describes an inherent quality.
How do I turn this into a question? For example, “Does reading give a lot of fun?”
Invert subject and verb as usual:
Geeft lezen veel plezier?
This literally asks, “Does reading give much fun?” It follows the S-V inversion pattern common to Dutch yes/no questions.