Breakdown of Tom plakt de stukjes papier aan elkaar met lijm.
Tom
Tom
met
with
het stukje papier
the piece of paper
de lijm
the glue
aan elkaar plakken
to stick together
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Questions & Answers about Tom plakt de stukjes papier aan elkaar met lijm.
Why is plakt the correct conjugation of plakken for Tom?
In Dutch present tense, verbs take -t for third person singular (hij/zij/het). Since Tom corresponds to hij, you remove the infinitive ending -en from plakken and add -t to the stem plak, giving plakt.
Why do we say de stukjes papier? How do articles and plural forms work here?
Stukje is a diminutive noun (neuter), so singular is het stukje. When you pluralize it to stukjes, all Dutch plurals use the article de, hence de stukjes. The following noun papier is used attributively (no article).
Why don't we say stukjes van papier (pieces of paper) like in English?
Dutch often omits van in noun–material combinations. Stukjes papier literally means pieces paper but conveys pieces of paper. You can say stukjes van papier in more formal or emphatic contexts, but everyday usage drops van.
What does aan elkaar mean, and why is it placed after the object?
Aan elkaar means together (literally “to each other”). It’s an adverbial prepositional phrase specifying how the pieces are stuck. Dutch main clauses usually follow subject–verb–object–adverbial order, so aan elkaar comes after de stukjes papier.
Why is there no article before lijm, i.e., met lijm instead of met de lijm?
When talking about a substance in general, Dutch treats it as uncountable and omits the article. So lijm (glue) stands alone. You’d use de lijm only if you refer to a specific glue you’ve mentioned before.
Can we start the sentence with met lijm? If so, what happens to the word order?
Yes. If you front met lijm, the finite verb remains in second position:
Met lijm plakt Tom de stukjes papier aan elkaar.
The subject follows the verb, then the object and other phrases.
Is plakken here a separable verb? Why isn’t aan attached to plakt?
In this sentence, plakken is not separable with aan. The phrase aan elkaar is a separate prepositional phrase meaning together. A different verb, aanplakken, is separable and means to stick onto (e.g. Tom plakt de poster aan de muur).
Can we use the verb lijmen instead of plakken with met lijm?
Yes. You could say:
Tom lijmt de stukjes papier aan elkaar.
Since lijmen already means “to glue,” you omit met lijm to avoid redundancy.