Breakdown of Kinderen eten ijsjes op het plein.
eten
to eat
op
on
het kind
the child
het ijsje
the ice cream
het plein
the square
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Questions & Answers about Kinderen eten ijsjes op het plein.
Why is there no article before Kinderen?
In Dutch, plural nouns used in a general sense don’t need an article—just like in English when you say “Children eat ice cream.” If you want to talk about a specific group of children, you’d add the definite article de: De kinderen eten ijsjes op het plein.
Why is ijsjes used instead of ijs?
Ijs is an uncountable noun meaning “ice” or “ice cream” in general. When you talk about individual servings or treats, you use the diminutive ijsje (“ice pop,” “little ice cream”), and then make it plural: ijsje → ijsjes.
How is ijsjes formed? Why the -jes ending?
Dutch forms diminutives by adding -je (or variants like -tje, -pje). Because ijsje ends in -je, its plural is ijsjes—you simply add -s to make it plural: ijsje + s = ijsjes.
How do you pronounce the ij in ijsjes?
The digraph ij sounds roughly like the English “ay” in “day” but with a slight “eye” quality. Phonetically, ijsjes is [ˈɛi.sjəs].
Why do we use op het plein and not in het plein?
Dutch uses op for surfaces and open areas (squares, terraces, fields). Since a square is considered an open surface, you say op het plein (“on the square”). You reserve in for enclosed spaces (e.g. in het huis).
Why is it het plein and not de plein?
Dutch nouns are either common gender (taking de) or neuter (taking het). Unfortunately you often have to learn them by heart. Plein is neuter, so it pairs with het.
Does the verb always come right after the subject, as in Kinderen eten...?
In main (declarative) clauses, Dutch uses Subject-Verb-Object order, just like English. So Kinderen eten ijsjes... is standard. In questions or subordinate clauses, the verb can move to the front or end, respectively.