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Breakdown of De zon schijnt fel in de tuin.
in
in
de tuin
the garden
fel
bright
de zon
the sun
schijnen
to shine
Questions & Answers about De zon schijnt fel in de tuin.
Why is it de zon instead of het zon?
Dutch has two grammatical genders: common and neuter. Common‐gender nouns take de, neuter nouns take het. Zon (sun) is common‐gender, so we say de zon.
What does schijnt mean and why does it end in -t?
The verb schijnen means to shine (and also to seem). In the present tense, the third‐person singular (hij/zij/het) form adds -t, so schijnen → schijnt when the subject is de zon (it).
What part of speech is fel, and why does it come after the verb?
Fel is an adjective used adverbially here (“brightly” or “intensely”). Dutch places adverbs (including adjectives used as adverbs) directly after the conjugated verb, hence schijnt fel.
Why is it in de tuin rather than op de tuin?
Dutch prepositions don’t always match English one‐to‐one. In de tuin indicates being inside the garden’s area. Op de tuin would imply being on top of the garden’s surface, which isn’t idiomatic here.
Can I start the sentence with In de tuin? What happens to the word order?
Yes. Dutch allows you to front an adverbial phrase for emphasis. If you start with In de tuin, the conjugated verb stays in second position:
In de tuin schijnt de zon fel.
How do I pronounce schijnt fel? Where is the stress?
Schijnt is pronounced = voiceless velar fricative + /s/, ei = /ɛi/, then /n/ /t/. Fel is [fɛl]. Each word has one syllable, and the stress falls on that syllable.
Why isn’t zon capitalized in the middle of the sentence?
In Dutch, only proper nouns and the first word of a sentence are capitalized. Common nouns such as zon remain lowercase unless they begin the sentence.
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