Learn Hardcore Dutch: Anna zet elke maand geld in haar spaarpot voor een nieuwe laptop. - Anna puts money into her piggy bank every month for a new laptop.

Zetten in is a separable verb meaning “to put into.” In main clauses, Dutch splits separable verbs: the simple verb zet appears in the second position, and the prefix in goes to the end of the clause. So Anna zet … in literally corresponds to “Anna puts … in.”

Why is there no article before geld?

In Dutch, geld (“money”) is a mass (uncountable) noun, so you normally don’t use an indefinite article (een geld would be incorrect). You simply say geld when referring to money in general. If you wanted to emphasize “some money,” you could say wat geld.

What’s the difference between elke maand and maandelijks?

Both mean “monthly.” Elke maand is a literal “each month” and is very common in everyday speech. Maandelijks is an adverbial form meaning “monthly” and can be used interchangeably (e.g. Anna spaart maandelijks). Elke maand feels slightly more conversational.

What exactly is a spaarpot, and could you use spaarrekening here instead?

A spaarpot is literally a “piggy-bank” or a money jar—something physical you put coins or bills into. A spaarrekening is a “savings account” at a bank. You could say Anna zet elke maand geld op haar spaarrekening if you mean she transfers money to a bank account rather than a jar.

Why is the order geld in haar spaarpot instead of in haar spaarpot geld?

Dutch follows a basic SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) word order, and prepositional phrases of place (like in haar spaarpot) normally come after the direct object (geld). You could invert them for emphasis (In haar spaarpot zet Anna elke maand geld), but the default is Subject – Verb – Object – Place.

What does voor mean in voor een nieuwe laptop?

Here voor indicates purpose or goal: she is saving for a new laptop. It’s equivalent to the English preposition “for” when expressing intent or purpose.

Why een nieuwe laptop and not de nieuwe laptop or no article?

Een is the indefinite article “a/an,” so it shows she is saving for a new laptop, not one already specified in the conversation. If you both knew exactly which laptop, you’d use de nieuwe laptop (“the new laptop”).

Why is the adjective nieuw inflected as nieuwe?

Dutch adjectives get an -e ending (weak inflection) when preceded by any article (een, de, het) or another determiner and used with common-gender nouns. Since laptop is common gender and has een, it becomes nieuwe laptop.

Why use the simple present zet instead of a continuous tense?

Dutch doesn’t have an English-style continuous tense. The simple present (zet) expresses both habitual (“every month”) and ongoing actions. If you wanted to stress “is in the process of saving,” you could say Anna is elke maand geld aan het sparen, but the simple present is by far more common for routines.