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In die fabriek lekt de machine water.

In die fabriek lekt de machine water.
In that factory, the machine leaks water.
FromLesson 30inHardcore Dutch
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Questions & Answers about In die fabriek lekt de machine water.

Why is in die fabriek placed at the beginning of the sentence?
Dutch is a V2‐language: the finite verb must be in second position. By fronting the adverbial phrase in die fabriek, you trigger inversion—lekt (the verb) comes second and the subject de machine follows. This fronting also emphasizes location.
Why does the verb appear as lekt and not lek?
The infinitive is lekken. For the third‐person singular present tense you add -t to the stem lek → lekt. Even when you invert subject and verb, the conjugation stays the same.
Why is there no article before water? Wouldn’t it be het water or een water?
Here water is an unspecified, uncountable substance (mass noun). Dutch normally uses the bare noun for “some water.” You only use het water when you mean “the (specific) water” and you never say een water because you can’t count “waters” in that way.
How would you negate “the machine leaks water” in Dutch? Where do geen and niet go?

To negate the indefinite object use geen before water:
In die fabriek lekt de machine geen water.
If you want to negate the entire clause (leaking at all), use niet after the verb phrase:
In die fabriek lekt de machine niet.

Why is die used in die fabriek instead of dat?
Dutch demonstratives agree with the noun’s gender/number. Fabriek is a de-word (common gender), so you use die for “that.” You’d use dat if the noun took het.
Can you also say De machine lekt water in die fabriek? What changes?

Yes. Putting the subject first gives the neutral order:
De machine lekt water in die fabriek.
Fronting in die fabriek (as in the original) shifts the emphasis onto the location.

How do you form a yes/no question from this sentence?

Swap verb and subject. The most common is:
Leekt de machine water in die fabriek?
You could also front in die fabriek, keeping V2:
In die fabriek lekt de machine water?

Is there an alternative way to express “water is leaking from the machine”?

Yes—you can use the impersonal er and a prepositional complement:
Er lekt water uit de machine.
This focuses on the existence of the leak rather than on the machine as subject.

More from this lesson

de stoepIk sta op de stoep en wacht op mijn vriend.De kinderen spelen niet op de weg maar op de stoep.de rommelEr ligt veel rommel in mijn kamer, dus ik moet opruimen.Toen ik thuiskwam, zag ik dat de keuken vol rommel lag.de vuilniszakIk doe de rommel in een grote vuilniszak en breng die naar buiten.
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