Ik trek een lijn op papier.

I draw a line on paper.

Breakdown of Ik trek een lijn op papier.

• ik: I
• het papier: the paper
• een: a, an
• op: on
• trekken: to draw
• de lijn: the line

Questions & Answers about Ik trek een lijn op papier.

Why is the verb trekken used here instead of tekenen?

While both verbs can translate as “to draw” in English, they have different nuances in Dutch:

• tekenen generally means “to sketch” or “to create an illustration.” It focuses on the act of drawing a picture.
• trekken in the construction een lijn trekken literally means “to pull a line,” emphasizing the motion of dragging your pen or pencil across the paper in one continuous stroke. It’s the standard way to say “to draw a line.”

What’s the role of op in op papier? Could I say in papier or leave it out?

In Dutch, surfaces and materials normally take the preposition op (“on”). You draw on the surface of the paper, not in it, so you say op papier. Omitting the preposition entirely (Ik trek een lijn papier) is ungrammatical—op is required to indicate where the line is drawn.

Why is there no definite article before papier? Why not op het papier?

Here papier is used in a general or uncountable sense, like the English “paper” (material). When we speak about paper in general—any sheet of paper—we omit the article. If you wanted to refer to a specific piece of paper already mentioned, you could say op het papier (“on the paper”).

Why is the noun lijn preceded by the indefinite article een?

Using een lijn tells us it’s one unspecified line, just “a line.” If you had a particular line in mind, you would use the definite article: Ik trek de lijn. But in our example, the speaker simply draws one line, so it stays indefinite.

Can I move op papier to the front of the sentence? For example, Op papier trek ik een lijn?

Yes. Dutch is a V2 (verb-second) language: the finite verb trek must appear in second position. You can front op papier for emphasis:

• Op papier trek ik een lijn.
  The structure remains correct because trek stays in slot two.

What is the gender of lijn, and how does that affect the article?

Lijn is a de-woord (common gender), so its definite article is de. Indefinitely, you always use een lijn (gender-neutral). You would never say het lijn.

How do you pronounce ij in lijn, and is it different from ei?

In modern Dutch, ij and ei represent the same diphthong, pronounced roughly like the English ay in “say”, but with a slightly more open vowel start. So lijn is pronounced [lɛin], and you’ll hear it rhyme with reis [rɛis].