Zes mensen lopen in de tuin.

Six people walk in the garden.

Breakdown of Zes mensen lopen in de tuin.

• in: in
• lopen: to walk
• de tuin: the garden
• de mens: the person
• zes: six

Questions & Answers about Zes mensen lopen in de tuin.

Why is there no article before mensen?

In Dutch, when you refer to an indefinite quantity of a plural noun, you do not use the article een. You simply put the number plus the noun:
• English: six people
• Dutch: zes mensen
Adding een before a plural would be ungrammatical (you can only have een with singular nouns).

Why is zes placed before mensen, and is this word order fixed?

Yes, in Dutch cardinal numbers (two, three, six…) always precede the noun they quantify:
• zes (6) + mensen (people)
The structure is: Number → Noun. You cannot say mensen zes.

Why is the verb lopen and not loopt?

Dutch verbs in the present tense agree with the subject’s number/person:
• ik loop
• jij/hij/zij loopt
• wij/jullie/zij lopen
Since mensen (people) is third-person plural (zij), the correct form is lopen.

Does lopen here mean simple present or present continuous?

Dutch does not distinguish between simple present and present continuous like English. The form lopen can mean “walk” or “are walking,” depending on context. In this sentence, Zes mensen lopen in de tuin can be translated as:
• “Six people walk in the garden.”
• “Six people are walking in the garden.”

Why is it in de tuin? Can I say op de tuin or omit the article?

1. Preposition: In Dutch, people “walk in the garden,” so you use in. Op (on) would suggest being on top of something (like a roof).
2. Article: tuin (garden) is a common-gender noun, so it takes de. With a definite place, Dutch requires the article.
3. Omitting the article (saying in tuin) is not allowed unless it’s a fixed expression or a proper name.

How do you pronounce zes mensen lopen?

• zes: /zɛs/ – the z sounds like the z in “zoo,” the e like the e in “bed.”
• mensen: /ˈmɛn.sə(n)/ – the first e is like in “bed,” the second e is schwa.
• lopen: /ˈloː.pən/ – long o (like “low”), then a schwa.

What is the singular of mensen, and why does it pluralize that way?

The singular is mens (meaning “person” or “human being”). It pluralizes to mensen because nouns ending in –s add –en rather than another –s:
• mens → mensen
This is a regular pattern: if a noun already ends in s, you form the plural with –en.

Could I invert the sentence to In de tuin lopen zes mensen?

Yes. Dutch main clauses are verb-second (V2). If you start with a prepositional phrase, the verb still comes second:
• S-V-O: Zes mensen lopen in de tuin.
• P-V-S: In de tuin lopen zes mensen.
Both are correct; the inversion often shifts the emphasis.