Word
De opslag van groenten en fruit in de kelder is belangrijk.
Meaning
The storage of vegetables and fruit in the basement is important.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of De opslag van groenten en fruit in de kelder is belangrijk.
zijn
to be
in
in
en
and
belangrijk
important
de groente
the vegetable
het fruit
the fruit
van
of
de kelder
the basement
de opslag
the storage
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Questions & Answers about De opslag van groenten en fruit in de kelder is belangrijk.
What does opslag mean and how is it used here?
opslag is a noun meaning storage. It comes from the verb opslaan (to store). In this sentence, de opslag refers to the act or the place of storing items.
Why is it de opslag van groenten en fruit instead of just groenten- en fruitopslag?
Dutch allows noun compounds, but when you list multiple items, it’s more natural to use opslag plus a van-phrase. groenten- en fruitopslag is grammatically possible but less common in everyday usage.
Why are there no articles before groenten and fruit?
When you speak about items in general, Dutch often omits articles in a van-construction. If you want to refer to specific vegetables and fruit, you would say de opslag van de groenten en het fruit.
Why is the verb is singular, even though groenten and fruit are plural?
The grammatical subject is de opslag, which is singular. The verb always agrees with the head noun opslag, not with the objects of the van-phrase.
How does in de kelder function, and why is in used?
in de kelder is a prepositional phrase indicating location (“in the basement”). In Dutch, in is the correct preposition to show that something is inside an enclosed space like a basement.
Could the sentence be rephrased by moving in de kelder to the front?
Yes. You can say In de kelder is de opslag van groenten en fruit belangrijk. Fronting in de kelder emphasizes the location. Dutch word order then places the verb right after the fronted element.
Is there another way to express the same idea using an infinitive clause?
Absolutely: Het is belangrijk om groenten en fruit in de kelder op te slaan. Here het is a placeholder subject, and om ... op te slaan is the infinitive construction meaning “to store.”
What’s the difference between fruit and vruchten in Dutch?
fruit is a collective, mass noun (like English “fruit”), while vruchten refers to individual pieces (plural “fruits”). Both are correct, but fruit is more commonly used when talking about fruit as a whole category.