Breakdown of In de klas knipt Anna papier met een nieuwe schaar.
Anna
Anna
in
in
nieuw
new
met
with
het papier
the paper
een
a, an
de klas
the classroom
knippen
to cut
de schaar
the scissors
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Questions & Answers about In de klas knipt Anna papier met een nieuwe schaar.
Why is it in de klas used here? In English we just say “in class” without “the.”
In Dutch you normally include the definite article with locations inside a room or building. Klas is a common-gender noun, so you say in de klas (“in the classroom”). To refer to being at school more generally you would say op school, but in de klas specifies inside the classroom.
Why is there no article before papier? Wouldn’t it be “een papier”?
Papier is treated as an uncountable, mass noun here (just “paper” in general), so you omit the article. If you wanted to cut one sheet, you’d specify een stuk papier (“a piece of paper”).
Why is the verb knipt and not knip or knipt zich?
In Dutch the present tense for hij/zij/het adds -t to the stem. The infinitive is knippen (to cut), the stem is knip, so for Anna (third person singular) you get knipt. There’s no separate progressive form in Dutch—you use the simple present.
The word order is In de klas knipt Anna papier… rather than Anna knipt papier in de klas. Why?
Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule. If you start with an adverbial phrase (In de klas), the finite verb (knipt) must come directly after, then the subject (Anna). You could also say Anna knipt papier in de klas, but if you front the location, the verb stays second.
Why is met een nieuwe schaar used to show the tool? Could we say “with scissors” differently?
Dutch uses the preposition met (“with”) to indicate the instrument or tool, just like English. You cannot drop met here; Anna knipt papier een nieuwe schaar would be ungrammatical. Always met + instrument.
Why is it een nieuwe schaar and not een nieuw schaar or de nieuwe schaar?
- Schaar is a common-gender noun, singular and preceded by een, so the adjective takes -e: nieuwe.
- It’s introduced as any new pair, not a specific one, so we use the indefinite article een. If you wanted to say “her new scissors,” you’d use haar nieuwe schaar (with haar as the possessive).
In English we say “scissors” in the plural. Why is Dutch schaar singular?
Dutch treats schaar as a regular singular noun. You have één schaar, twee scharen, even though in English a “pair of scissors” looks plural. It’s just an idiosyncrasy of Dutch vocabulary.
Could I replace een nieuwe schaar with haar nieuwe schaar to show possession?
Yes. Anna knipt papier met haar nieuwe schaar means “Anna is cutting paper with her new scissors.” The possessive haar replaces een, and the adjective ending -e stays the same because schaar is common gender singular.