Breakdown of De brandweer gebruikt veel water.
het water
the water
gebruiken
to use
veel
a lot of
de brandweer
the fire brigade
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Questions & Answers about De brandweer gebruikt veel water.
What does brandweer mean?
brandweer means fire brigade or fire department, the organization responsible for fighting fires.
Why is de used before brandweer instead of het?
Dutch has two definite articles: de (common gender and all plurals) and het (neuter singular). brandweer is a common-gender noun, so it takes de.
Why is the verb gebruikt in singular form, not gebruiken?
The subject de brandweer is grammatically singular (it refers to one organization), so the verb is conjugated in the third-person singular present: gebruikt. The infinitive is gebruiken.
Why does gebruikt come in second position in the sentence?
In Dutch main clauses, the finite verb follows the first element (here the subject de brandweer). This rule is called V2 word order (verb-second).
Why is it veel water and not veel waters?
water is an uncountable (mass) noun in Dutch. With mass nouns you use veel plus the singular form: veel water.
What function does veel water have in the sentence?
veel water is the direct object (the thing being used). In Dutch this is called the lijdend voorwerp.
Can I rephrase the sentence with a plural subject, and what changes?
Yes. For example: De brandweermannen gebruiken veel water. Notice the plural subject de brandweermannen requires the verb gebruiken (third-person plural) instead of gebruikt.