Breakdown of De koerier levert de boeken meestal soepel en op tijd.
Questions & Answers about De koerier levert de boeken meestal soepel en op tijd.
In Dutch, de is the definite article for most singular common-gender nouns and all plurals. Here it appears before koerier (singular, common gender) and before boeken (plural).
- de koerier = the courier
- de boeken = the books
Leveren means to deliver. It’s a transitive verb that can take one or two objects:
- With a single direct object:
De koerier levert de boeken. (The courier delivers the books.) - With direct + indirect object:
Hij levert de klant de boeken. (He delivers the books to the customer.)
In our sentence we only have the direct object de boeken.
Meestal means usually or most of the time. Dutch is a V2 (verb-second) language, so the finite verb must be in the second slot. You can put meestal either:
1) Directly after the subject (verb still second):
De koerier levert meestal de boeken…
2) In first position (verb moves to second):
Meestal levert de koerier de boeken…
3) After the object, for emphasis on manner/time:
De koerier levert de boeken meestal…
All are grammatically correct; choice depends on what you want to emphasize.
When a Dutch adjective is used adverbially (to modify a verb), you keep its base form. Here soepel (normally smooth or flexible as an adjective) functions as an adverb meaning smoothly. If you used it before a noun, you would add –e:
- Adverb: De koerier levert soepel. (The courier delivers smoothly.)
- Adjective: een soepele levering (a smooth delivery)
- Meestal = usually, most of the time (implies a regular pattern)
- Vaak = often, frequently (focuses on frequency)
You could say De koerier levert vaak… to stress that deliveries happen often, whereas meestal suggests they happen that way in the majority of cases.