Tom vertelt een woordgrap in het park.

Tom tells a pun in the park.

Breakdown of Tom vertelt een woordgrap in het park.

• Tom: Tom
• in: in
• het park: the park
• een: a, an
• vertellen: to tell
• de woordgrap: the pun

Questions & Answers about Tom vertelt een woordgrap in het park.

What does the verb vertelt mean here and why is it vertelt and not zegt?

vertelt is the third-person singular present form of vertellen, which means “to tell” (a story, a joke, etc.). We use vertellen rather than zeggen because:

• vertellen focuses on conveying a narrative or joke.
• zeggen simply means “to say” and is used for reporting direct speech or simply uttering words.

In this sentence, Tom isn’t just saying words—he’s telling a joke.

How is vertellen conjugated in the present tense?

Here’s the present-tense conjugation of vertellen (to tell):

• Ik vertel
• Jij vertelt
• Hij/Zij/Het vertelt
• Wij vertellen
• Jullie vertellen
• Zij vertellen

Since our subject is Tom (hij), we say Tom vertelt.

What does een woordgrap mean, and how is it different from een grap?

• een woordgrap = a pun (literally “word-joke”), a joke that plays on words.
• een grap = any joke or prank.

Use woordgrap when the humor comes specifically from puns or wordplay; use grap for jokes in general.

Why is woordgrap written as one word?

Dutch often combines two nouns into a single compound noun:

• woord (word) + grap (joke) → woordgrap (pun).
  Compound nouns are always written as one word in Dutch.

Why do we say in het park instead of op het park?

Prepositions with locations in Dutch:

• in is used for enclosed or well-defined spaces (in the park, in the room).
• op is used for surfaces or when you’re on top of something (on the table, on the beach).

A park is seen as a general enclosed area, so you use in het park.

What’s the word order in Tom vertelt een woordgrap in het park?

This is a main clause in Dutch, which follows the V2 rule (verb-second):

1. Subject: Tom
2. Finite verb: vertelt
3. Direct object: een woordgrap
4. Adverbial/prepositional phrase: in het park

Thus: Subject – Verb – Object – Adverbial.

Why is the article een used before woordgrap, and how do I choose de, het or een?

• een = “a” or “an,” indefinite article for singular nouns when you refer to something non-specific.
• de/het = definite articles (“the”), chosen by the noun’s gender/class: • de for most nouns (common gender).
  • het for neuter nouns (smaller subset).

woordgrap is a common-gender noun, so its definite form would be de woordgrap; indefinite is een woordgrap.

How do you pronounce woordgrap?

Approximate pronunciation:

• woord = “voort” (voːrt) – long “oo” like in English “board.”
• grap = “khrap” (ɣrɑp) – the “g” is a guttural sound, like clearing your throat softly.
  Put together: WOOD-khrap (voːrtɣrɑp).

Could I also say Tom maakt een woordgrap?

Yes, but slight nuance:

• Tom vertelt een woordgrap = Tom tells (delivers) a pun (focus on narration).
• Tom maakt een woordgrap = Tom makes/creates a pun (focus on the act of constructing the pun).

Both are correct, but vertellen is more idiomatic when you “tell” or “deliver” a joke to someone.