Questions & Answers about De kat is bang voor de hond.
What is the function of de in de kat?
de is the definite article in Dutch, equivalent to the in English. It marks kat as a specific cat, not just any cat.
Why is it de and not het?
Dutch nouns are divided into de-words (common gender) and het-words (neuter). kat is a common-gender noun, so it takes de. There’s no simple rule for every noun; you often learn the article with the word.
What does bang mean, and what part of speech is it?
bang is an adjective meaning afraid. When you describe how someone feels, you use zijn (to be) + adjective in Dutch.
Why is bang placed after the verb is?
In a simple Dutch main clause, the finite verb (here is) is in second position, and predicate adjectives follow that verb. So you get De kat (subject) + is (verb) + bang (adjective).
Why do we use voor to link bang with de hond?