Breakdown of Op de eerste pagina staat een kort overzicht van onze ambitie.
onze
our
staan
to stand
kort
short
een
a, an
eerste
first
van
of
op
on
de pagina
the page
het overzicht
the overview
de ambitie
the ambition
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Questions & Answers about Op de eerste pagina staat een kort overzicht van onze ambitie.
Why is Op de eerste pagina placed at the beginning of the sentence?
This is a fronted prepositional phrase that sets the scene (“on the first page”). In Dutch you often place time, place or manner expressions at the start for emphasis or context. Whatever you put in first position, the finite verb still has to be the second element in the clause.
Why does staat come immediately after Op de eerste pagina, and why does een kort overzicht follow the verb?
Dutch main clauses obey the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second slot. Since Op de eerste pagina is in slot one, staat goes into slot two and the subject (een kort overzicht) comes in slot three.
What exactly does staat mean here, and why don’t we use is instead?
Literally staat means “stands,” but in this context it’s idiomatic for “is printed,” “is displayed” or “you’ll find.” Saying is would be grammatically possible (“Op de eerste pagina is een kort overzicht…”), but native speakers normally use staat to describe what appears on a page or document.
Why do we use op rather than in with pagina?
When talking about something appearing on a sheet or page, Dutch treats the page as a surface, so you use op (“on”) rather than in.
Why is the adjective kort not korte in een kort overzicht?
Adjectives in Dutch take an -e ending when the noun is definite (de-woord) or plural. Here overzicht is a neuter noun (“het overzicht”) and it’s introduced by the indefinite article een, so you keep the bare form kort.
Why do we say onze ambitie instead of ons ambitie?
Possessive pronouns in Dutch agree with the gender/number of the noun. Ambitie is a common-gender noun (de-woord), so you use onze. You’d only use ons with singular neuter nouns (het-woorden).
Could we rephrase this sentence with er staat? How would that work?
Yes. You can introduce an existential er and still keep V2 word order:
Er staat op de eerste pagina een kort overzicht van onze ambitie.
Could we also start with the subject instead of the location phrase?
Absolutely. If you put the subject in first position, the verb remains second:
Een kort overzicht van onze ambitie staat op de eerste pagina.