Tom koopt vlees op de markt.

Tom

Breakdown of Tom koopt vlees op de markt.

• kopen: to buy
• de markt: the market
• op: at

Questions & Answers about Tom koopt vlees op de markt.

Why does koopt end with -t instead of koop?

In Dutch, verbs in the present tense change their ending depending on the subject. For the pronouns hij/zij/het (he/she/it) or any singular name like Tom, you add -t to the stem. The stem of kopen (to buy) is koop. So with Tom (third person singular), it becomes koopt.

Why is there no article before vlees?

Vlees (meat) is a mass noun when you’re talking about it in general (an unspecified amount). In Dutch, mass nouns often appear without an article if you don’t specify the meat or some meat. If you wanted to specify, you could say (het) vlees for “the meat” or wat vlees for “some meat.”

Can you use vlees in the plural?

No, vlees is an uncountable noun in Dutch, just like in English. You don’t say vlezen or two meats. To talk about different kinds you might say soorten vlees (“types of meat”) or quantify with words like stukjes vlees (“pieces of meat”).

Why is it op de markt and not in de markt?