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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?
Different languages use different prepositions. In Dutch, you go op de markt to say “at the market” (literally “on the market”). Saying in de markt would sound like you’re inside a building called “the market,” which isn’t the usual expression when you mean the open-air market or market square.
Why is it de markt and not het markt?
Dutch nouns are either de words (common gender) or het words (neuter). Markt is a common gender noun, so it takes de. There’s no strict logical rule, you just have to learn which nouns use de and which use het.
Can you start the sentence with Op de markt instead of Tom?
Yes. Because Dutch is a verb-second (V2) language, if you move the prepositional phrase Op de markt to the front, the verb koopt still comes second, and the subject comes third:
Op de markt koopt Tom vlees.
How would you turn this statement into a yes/no question?
In Dutch you invert the subject and the verb for a yes/no question. So Tom koopt vlees op de markt. becomes:
Koopt Tom vlees op de markt?
How do you say “some meat” if you want to emphasize quantity?
You can add wat (some) before vlees:
Tom koopt wat vlees op de markt.
This makes it clear that you’re buying an unspecified small amount rather than all the meat.