Ik hoor een geluid in de schuur.

I hear a sound in the shed.

Breakdown of Ik hoor een geluid in de schuur.

• ik: I
• in: in
• de schuur: the shed
• een: a, an
• horen: to hear
• het geluid: the sound

Questions & Answers about Ik hoor een geluid in de schuur.

Why do we say Ik hoor instead of a progressive like I am hearing?

Dutch doesn’t have a true present‐continuous tense. The simple present (e.g. Ik hoor) covers both habitual and ongoing actions. Perception verbs like horen always use the present simple. If you really want a “continuous” nuance, you can say ik ben aan het horen, but that’s uncommon.

Why is there an indefinite article een before geluid? Could I just say Ik hoor geluid?

In Dutch, singular countable nouns require either a definite article (de/het) or an indefinite one (een). Here geluid is a specific countable thing (“a sound”), so you need een. Omitting the article gives geluid a mass-noun feel (“sound” in general), which doesn’t match this context.

How do I know whether to use de or het for a noun like schuur or geluid?

Dutch nouns are either common gender (take de) or neuter (take het). Unfortunately there’s no foolproof rule, so you learn them case by case or use a dictionary. For example: de schuur (common) but het geluid (neuter). In our sentence schuur is definite, so it’s de schuur.

Why is it in de schuur instead of op de schuur or just in schuur?

In means “inside,” whereas op means “on top of.” Since you hear something inside the shed, you choose in. Also, Dutch usually requires an article with a singular location noun, so in de schuur is correct and in schuur sounds ungrammatical here.

Can I invert the order and say In de schuur hoor ik een geluid instead?

Yes. Dutch is a V2 (verb‐second) language. If you start with an adverbial phrase (“In de schuur”), the finite verb (hoor) stays in second position and the subject (ik) follows: In de schuur hoor ik een geluid. This just emphasizes the location.

How do I pronounce schuur? What sounds do sch and uu make?

sch at the beginning of a word is [sx] (an s + a hard ch, like Scottish loch). The uu is a long rounded vowel [yː], similar to the French u in tu. So schuur ~ [sxyr].

What’s the difference between horen and luisteren?

Horen means “to hear” (passive perception—you don’t have to try). Luisteren means “to listen” (actively paying attention). You hoor iets when it reaches your ears; you luister naar iets when you focus on it.

How would I say this in the past? Use Ik hoorde or Ik heb gehoord?

Both are possible:
• Ik hoorde een geluid in de schuur uses the simple past and sounds like storytelling.
• Ik heb een geluid in de schuur gehoord uses the present perfect and is more common in conversation. The meaning is almost the same, though the perfect is often preferred in spoken Dutch.