Breakdown of De knoppen op de televisie zitten los.
zitten
to sit
de televisie
the television
op
on
de knop
the button
los
loose
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Questions & Answers about De knoppen op de televisie zitten los.
What does knoppen mean in this sentence?
Knoppen is the plural of knop, which means button or knob (the physical controls on a device). So here knoppen means buttons.
Why is zitten used here instead of verbs like zijn, liggen, staan, or hangen, and what does zitten los mean?
In Dutch, you pick a position verb based on how something is attached or oriented:
- zitten (to sit) for parts that are fitted or inserted
- staan (to stand) for upright objects
- liggen (to lie) for flat objects
- hangen (to hang) for something suspended
Buttons are fitted into the TV casing, so they zitten. Adding los (literally “loose”) gives zitten los, which idiomatically means “are loose” or “aren’t firmly attached.” You could say zijn los (“are loose”), but zitten los is more common for physical looseness.
What does op de televisie indicate, and why is op the correct preposition?
Op de televisie means “on the television.” Op is used when something is on a surface. The phrase tells you where the buttons are loose—on the surface of the TV set.
What part of speech is los, and why doesn’t it take an -e ending?
Here los is a predicative adjective (it comes after a verb). In Dutch, adjectives used predicatively do not take an -e ending, so it remains los, not lose.
How would you change the sentence to talk about a single button instead of multiple buttons?
Use the singular forms:
De knop op de televisie zit los.
Here knop is singular and the verb changes to zit.
Why is the verb form zitten (plural) and not zit in the original sentence?
The subject of the sentence is de knoppen, which is plural. Dutch verbs agree in number, so you use zitten with a plural subject. With a singular subject you’d use zit.
How do you form the plural of knop, and why is it spelled knoppen with double p?
One-syllable Dutch words with a short vowel double the final consonant before adding -en to keep the vowel short. So knop (with a short o) becomes knop + p + en = knoppen.
Is the word order flexible? Could you also say Op de televisie zitten de knoppen los?
Yes. Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule (finite verb in second position). You can front a phrase for emphasis, so Op de televisie zitten de knoppen los is grammatically correct, though more emphatic than the neutral De knoppen op de televisie zitten los.