Breakdown of De stoel staat in de hoek van de woonkamer.
in
in
de stoel
the chair
staan
to stand
van
of
de woonkamer
the living room
de hoek
the corner
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Questions & Answers about De stoel staat in de hoek van de woonkamer.
Why is it de stoel and not het stoel?
All Dutch nouns are either de-words (common gender) or het-words (neuter). Stoel is a common-gender noun, so it takes de as its definite article. Only neuter nouns use het.
Why is the verb staat used here, and what does it mean?
Staat is the third-person singular present of staan, meaning “to stand.” In Dutch, upright objects—like a chair—are described with staan when placed somewhere, so de stoel staat means “the chair stands.”
Why not use liggen or zitten instead of staan?
Dutch uses different verbs for the orientation of objects:
• liggen = to lie (flat)
• zitten = to sit (for people/animals or seats themselves)
• hangen = to hang
• staan = to stand (upright).
Since a chair is upright, you use staan.
Why is in de hoek used instead of op de hoek?
In means “in” or “inside,” indicating something is within a space (here, the corner). Op means “on” and is used for surfaces (e.g. op de tafel). A corner is an interior part of a room, so you say in de hoek.
What does van de woonkamer mean, and why is van used here?
Van functions like English “of.” Dutch has no genitive-case endings on nouns, so relationships are shown with van + article + noun. De hoek van de woonkamer literally means “the corner of the living room.”
Why is woonkamer written as one word?
Dutch commonly forms compound nouns by joining words without spaces. Woon (“living”) + kamer (“room”) becomes woonkamer (“living room”).
Could I say De stoel staat in een hoek instead? What’s the difference?
Yes. In een hoek means “in a corner” (indefinite) and implies any corner. In de hoek (definite) refers to a specific corner known to speaker and listener.
Is the word order always Subject-Verb-Place in Dutch?
Main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position. In De stoel staat in de hoek…, De stoel (subject) is first, staat (verb) is second, and in de hoek van de woonkamer (place) follows. If you begin with another element (time, adverb), the subject moves after the verb.