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Het kind kleurt de zon geel met een kleurpotlood.

Het kind kleurt de zon geel met een kleurpotlood.
The child colours the sun yellow with a coloured pencil.
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Questions & Answers about Het kind kleurt de zon geel met een kleurpotlood.

What does kleurt mean in this sentence, and how is it formed?

kleurt is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb kleuren (“to color” or “to paint in”). Dutch conjugation in the present tense goes like this:

  • ik kleur
  • jij kleurt
  • hij/zij/het kleurt
  • wij/jullie/zij kleuren
Why is het kind used instead of de kind?

Dutch has two grammatical genders for nouns: common gender (uses de) and neuter gender (uses het). The noun kind (“child”) is neuter, so you say het kind. You simply have to learn which article goes with each noun.

Why is de zon definite here? Couldn’t it be een zon?

We use de with unique, one-of-a-kind entities like the sun. Just as in English you say “the sun,” in Dutch it’s always de zon when referring to our sun. Saying een zon would sound like “some (unknown) sun,” which doesn’t fit.

What is the function of geel in the sentence, and why doesn’t it get an extra –e?

Here geel is a predicative adjective (an object complement) describing the resulting color of de zon after the action. Predicative adjectives in Dutch remain uninflected:

  • de zon is geel
  • ik maak de zon geel
    Attributive adjectives (before a noun) do take –e: de gele zon (“the yellow sun”).
What does met mean, and why is it used before een kleurpotlood?

met is a preposition meaning “with.” It introduces the instrument used to perform the action. In Dutch you commonly use met + [instrument] to say how something is done:

  • schrijven met een pen
  • snijden met een mes
  • kleuren met een kleurpotlood
Why do we need een before kleurpotlood? Could I just say met kleurpotlood?

kleurpotlood is a countable, singular noun. In standard Dutch you need an article (een, het, or dit/het …) before such nouns. met kleurpotlood without an article is non-standard and would sound odd.

How does the word order in Het kind kleurt de zon geel met een kleurpotlood work?

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb appears in second position. Here:
1) Het kind (subject)
2) kleurt (verb)
After that come the direct object (de zon), the object complement (geel), and finally the prepositional phrase (met een kleurpotlood).

What’s the difference between kleuren, verven, and schilderen?
  • kleuren: to color or fill with color (crayons, pencils, markers).
  • verven: to paint with liquid paint (walls, furniture).
  • schilderen: to paint pictures/artworks (on canvas, murals).
    They overlap but are used in different contexts.
How do you pronounce kleurt and geel?
  • kleurt: [kløːrt], where eu sounds like /øː/ (similar to the vowel in deur).
  • geel: [ɣeːl], starting with the Dutch voiced fricative /ɣ/ (a soft “g”) followed by a long /eː/.