De kat loopt in het weiland.

In Dutch, nouns have two genders: common (using de) and neuter (using het).

• Kat is common gender ⇒ de kat
• Weiland is neuter ⇒ het weiland
  Unfortunately there’s no foolproof rule for every noun; you often learn each word’s gender or follow patterns (e.g. most diminutives are het, many “-ing” nouns are de).

To form the 3rd person singular present tense:

1. Start with the infinitive lopen (‘to walk’).
2. Drop -en → stem loop-.
3. Add -t → loopt.
   So de kat loopt literally means “the cat walks.”

Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule:

1. First comes one element (often the subject).
2. Then the finite verb.
3. Then the rest of the sentence (objects, adverbials, etc.).
   Here:
4. De kat (subject)
5. loopt (verb)
6. in het weiland (prepositional phrase)

Prepositions depend on how you view the space:

• in = inside or within an area (the meadow is a space the cat walks in).
• op = on top of a surface (like a table or roof).
  Thus in het weiland is correct for “in the meadow.”

Dutch lacks a dedicated continuous tense. You can say:

• Simple present: De kat loopt in het weiland. (often enough to imply “is walking”)
• Progressive construction: De kat is in het weiland aan het lopen.
  Both convey that the action is ongoing.

Both translate as “meadow,” but:

• Weiland often implies a fenced pasture used for grazing livestock.
• Weide is a more general term for meadow or pasture.
  Context and regional usage determine which you’ll hear more.