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Questions & Answers about De computer reageert traag.
Why does reageert end in -t?
In Dutch, most regular verbs in the present tense add -t for the third-person singular (hij/zij/het or a noun like de computer). The stem of reageren is reageer, so with de computer as subject you get reageert.
Is traag an adjective or an adverb in this sentence?
Here traag modifies the verb reageert, so it functions as an adverb (“slowly”). In Dutch, adverbs often share the same form as the base adjective, without adding -e.
Why is traag placed after the verb? Could I put it somewhere else?
Dutch adverbs of manner typically follow the finite verb, giving the normal word order: Subject–Verb–Adverb. You could front the adverb for emphasis—Traag reageert de computer—but that sounds literary or dramatic. You generally would not place traag before reageert without inverting the sentence.
Can I say De computer is traag instead? What’s the difference?
Yes. De computer is traag means “The computer is slow,” using traag as a predicative adjective describing the machine’s overall speed. Reageert traag focuses specifically on how it responds (“responds slowly”), rather than its general slowness.
Why doesn’t reageren need an object here? How does reageren op work?
Reageren can be used intransitively (“to react/respond”) without naming the stimulus. If you want to specify what it reacts to, you use reageren op + object. For example: De computer reageert traag op mijn commando (“The computer responds slowly to my command”).
What’s the difference between traag and langzaam?
Both mean “slow(ly),” but traag is often used in technical or performance contexts (machines, processes) and can sound a bit more formal or specialised. Langzaam is more general and common in everyday speech.
Why is it de computer and not het computer?
Dutch nouns belong to either the de-word or het-word category. Computer is grammatically a de-word, so it takes the article de.