……
Breakdown of Het bedrijf verkoopt boeken online.
het boek
the book
verkopen
to sell
online
online
het bedrijf
the company
Questions & Answers about Het bedrijf verkoopt boeken online.
Why do we use het instead of de with bedrijf?
In Dutch, nouns are classified as either de-words (common gender) or het-words (neuter). Bedrijf (“company”) is a neuter noun, so it takes het. Unfortunately there’s no foolproof rule for every noun—you often have to learn each noun with its article or rely on patterns (e.g., diminutives using het, many -je words, etc.).
Why does verkoopt end in -t?
Because in the present tense, 3rd person singular subjects (hij/zij/het) trigger an -t on the verb stem. The infinitive is verkopen, giving stem verkoop → het bedrijf verkoopt.
How do we form the plural boeken from boek?
You add -en to the singular stem for most Dutch nouns: boek → boeken. That’s the regular plural ending. Pronunciation becomes /ˈbu.kən/.
Why is online placed at the end? Can we move it before boeken?
Dutch main clauses follow a V2 (verb-second) rule: Subject – Verb – (Objects/Complements). Here it’s Subject (Het bedrijf) – Verb (verkoopt) – Object (boeken) – Adverbial (online). You can say Het bedrijf verkoopt online boeken, but that shifts your emphasis to “online books” rather than “selling … online.”
Is online an adverb or an adjective in this sentence?
It functions as an adverb, describing how the company sells the books (“sells … online”). Dutch has borrowed online unchanged from English for this purpose.
What’s the infinitive of verkoopt, and is it a regular verb?
The infinitive is verkopen, and it’s a regular (weak) verb. Its present‐tense conjugation is:
• ik verkoop
• jij/u verkoopt
• hij/zij/het verkoopt
• wij/jullie/zij verkopen
How is bedrijf pronounced?
It’s pronounced [bəˈdrɛi̯f]:
- b as in English “b”
- e as a schwa [ə]
- dr rolled slightly as in Dutch
- ij as the diphthong [ɛi̯]
- final f as in English “f.”
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