De meerderheid woont in de stad.

The majority lives in the city.

Breakdown of De meerderheid woont in de stad.

• in: in
• wonen: to live
• de stad: the city
• de meerderheid: the majority

Questions & Answers about De meerderheid woont in de stad.

Why does the verb appear as woont (singular) rather than wonen (plural) if meerderheid refers to many people?

In Dutch, meerderheid is a singular collective noun. Collective nouns take a singular verb:
• meerderheid (singular) → woont
If you use a plural noun like mensen (people), you would say mensen wonen.

Why is there a definite article de before meerderheid? Can I say meerderheid woont in de stad without an article?

Most singular countable nouns in Dutch need an article (definite de/het or indefinite een).
• De meerderheid specifies “the majority” as a known group.
• Omitting the article (meerderheid woont…) is ungrammatical.
• Using een meerderheid woont… is possible but shifts to “a majority” in general, and is less common unless you’re introducing the concept.

Could I say De meerderheid van de mensen woont in de stad instead? When do I need van de mensen?

Yes. Adding van de mensen clarifies which group you mean:
• De meerderheid woont… implies “the majority [in our context].”
• De meerderheid van de mensen… explicitly means “the majority of the people.”

Is there an alternative, more natural way to express this idea in everyday Dutch?

Yes. Native speakers often say:
• De meeste mensen wonen in de stad.
Here de meeste + plural noun mensen takes a plural verb wonen.

Why is the preposition in used with stad? Could I say op de stad or omit the preposition entirely?

With wonen you indicate location using a preposition:
• in de stad = “in the city.”
• op het platteland = “in the countryside” (literally “on the countryside”).
• You cannot omit the preposition: woont de stad is incorrect.

Why is it in de stad rather than in stad? When do I need the article with place names?

Generic nouns like stad, dorp, huis usually need an article if they’re not proper names:
• in de stad (the city in general).
• in Amsterdam (proper name: no article).
• in de stad Amsterdam (combines both: “in the city of Amsterdam”).

Could I start the sentence with In de stad and say In de stad woont de meerderheid? How does the word order change?

Yes. Dutch is a V2 language:
If you begin with an adverbial (In de stad), the finite verb (woont) must come second:
In de stad | woont | de meerderheid.

What’s the difference between wonen and leven? Could I use leven here?

• wonen = to reside/live at an address or location.
• leven = to live (be alive or experience life).
In this context only wonen is correct, because you’re talking about where people reside.