Tom koopt afwasmiddel in de supermarkt.

Tom buys dish soap at the supermarket.

Breakdown of Tom koopt afwasmiddel in de supermarkt.

• Tom: Tom
• in: in
• kopen: to buy
• de supermarkt: the supermarket
• het afwasmiddel: the dish soap

Questions & Answers about Tom koopt afwasmiddel in de supermarkt.

Why is there no article before afwasmiddel?

In Dutch, many substances and uncountable items can appear without an article when you speak in general terms. Here afwasmiddel (dishwashing liquid) is treated as a mass noun.
• If you want to highlight one specific product, you can add een:
– “Tom koopt een afwasmiddel in de supermarkt.”
• Or specify the container:
– “Tom koopt een fles afwasmiddel in de supermarkt.”

Why is in de supermarkt at the end of the sentence?

Dutch main clauses generally follow the Subject–Verb–Object–Adverbial order (SVOA). Here’s the breakdown:

1. Subject: Tom
2. Verb: koopt
3. Object: afwasmiddel
4. Adverbial phrase (place): in de supermarkt

You can move the adverbial to the front, but then the verb must stay in second position:
“In de supermarkt koopt Tom afwasmiddel.”

Why do we use in rather than op or bij de supermarkt?

Prepositions of location in Dutch:
• in: inside a building or enclosed space (“in de supermarkt” = inside).
• bij: near or at the outside of something (“Tom wacht bij de supermarkt”).
• op: on a surface or specific address (“op het station”, “op de hoek”).

Since Tom goes inside the store, in is appropriate.

Can afwasmiddel be plural? When would you use afwasmiddelen?

By default afwasmiddel is a mass (uncountable) noun, so you don’t pluralize it when talking about the liquid itself. You only use the plural afwasmiddelen if you mean “different kinds of dishwashing liquids” or several distinct products:
“Ik heb drie afwasmiddelen getest.”

How do you conjugate kopen, and why is it koopt here?

“kopen” is a regular verb. In the present tense:
• Ik koop
• Jij koopt
• Hij/zij/het koopt
• Wij kopen, jullie kopen, zij kopen

Since the subject is Tom (hij), the correct form is koopt.

Would the perfect tense be different?

Yes. If you want to say “Tom has bought dishwashing liquid,” you’d use the perfect:
“Tom heeft afwasmiddel gekocht.”
But the original sentence is simple present, describing a current or habitual action.

How is afwasmiddel pronounced?

Phonetic approximation: /ɑfˈʋɑsˌmɪ.dəl/
Breakdown by syllable: af-was-mid-del, with the primary stress on was.