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Zij zet haar voet op de stoel.

Zij zet haar voet op de stoel.
She puts her foot on the chair.

Breakdown of Zij zet haar voet op de stoel.

zij
she
de stoel
the chair
haar
her
zetten
to put
op
on
de voet
the foot
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Questions & Answers about Zij zet haar voet op de stoel.

Why is Zij used instead of Ze?
Both zij and ze mean “she.” Zij is the full or stressed form (common in writing or when you want emphasis), whereas ze is the reduced, unstressed form you hear more in everyday speech.
What is the verb zet, and how do you conjugate zetten?

Zet is the third-person singular present tense of zetten (“to put” or “to place”). The present-tense forms are:

  • ik zet
  • jij zet
  • hij/zij zet
  • wij/jullie/zij zetten
Why is haar used here, and how do you form possessive pronouns in Dutch?

Haar means “her …” as a possessive pronoun modifying the noun that follows (voet). Dutch possessives are:

  • mijn (my)
  • jouw (your, sing.)
  • zijn (his)
  • haar (her)
  • ons/onze (our)
  • jullie (your, pl.)
  • hun (their)
    Each is placed before the noun, with ons vs onze depending on gender/number of the noun.
Why de stoel instead of een stoel?
De is the definite article (“the”), used when referring to a specific, identifiable chair. Een is the indefinite article (“a”), used when mentioning any chair, not one in particular.
Why is the article de used for both voet and stoel?
Both voet (foot) and stoel (chair) are common-gender nouns in Dutch, and all common-gender nouns take de as their definite article. Only neuter nouns take het.
What is the word order in this sentence?

In a Dutch main clause the finite verb is in second position. Here the order is:

  1. Subject (Zij)
  2. Finite verb (zet)
  3. Object (haar voet)
  4. Prepositional phrase (op de stoel)
What does op mean in this context?
Op means “on.” It indicates that the foot is placed on top of the chair. Other spatial prepositions include in (in), onder (under), achter (behind), naast (next to), etc.
Can you move op de stoel to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Fronting the prepositional phrase still keeps the verb second:
Op de stoel zet zij haar voet.

Why is voet singular rather than plural?

Because the sentence describes placing one foot on the chair. If you wanted to say both feet, you’d use the plural noun:
Zij zet haar voeten op de stoel.