Anna hangt slingers in de feestzaal.

Anna hangs garlands in the banquet hall.

Breakdown of Anna hangt slingers in de feestzaal.

• Anna: Anna
• in: in
• hangen: to hang
• de slinger: the garland
• de feestzaal: the banquet hall

Questions & Answers about Anna hangt slingers in de feestzaal.

Why is the verb hangt spelled with a t when the infinitive is hangen?

In Dutch, the third-person singular present tense of most verbs adds -t to the verb stem. Here the infinitive hangen has the stem hang-, so for zij (she) or Anna you get zij hangt. The present-tense paradigm looks like this: • ik hang
• jij/u hang(t)
• hij/zij/het hangt
• wij/jullie/zij hangen

What’s the difference between hangen and the separable verb ophangen? When should I use one or the other?

• hangen (intransitive or transitive) simply means “to hang” or “to be hanging.”
Example: Anna hangt slingers in de feestzaal.
• ophangen (separable: hangt op, hingen op) means “to hang up” (put something up).
Example without location: Anna hangt de slingers op.
With location at the end: Anna hangt de slingers in de feestzaal op.
If you front the location: In de feestzaal hangt Anna de slingers op.

Why is there no article before slingers, and could I say de slingers or een slinger?

Because slingers is an indefinite plural. In Dutch: • Indefinite plural (some/—): no article → Anna hangt slingers…
• Definite plural (the): use de → Anna hangt de slingers… (if you mean specific ones)
• Indefinite singular (one): use een → Anna hangt een slinger…

Why is the plural of slinger slingers and not slingerens?

Dutch nouns have two common plural endings: -en and -s. Many polysyllabic words ending in a light syllable like -er, -el, -em take -s. Since slinger is two syllables with stress on the first syllable, its plural is formed with -s, giving slingers.

How do I know whether to use -en or -s for Dutch plurals in general?

Although there are exceptions, here are broad guidelines:
• Use -en for most monosyllabic nouns and those with stress on the last syllable (e.g., boek → boeken, raam → ramen).
• Use -s for many polysyllabic nouns ending in a light or unstressed syllable (especially those ending in -er, -el, -em, vowel) (e.g., tafel → tafels, slinger → slingers, café → cafés).
Always check a dictionary for irregulars and exceptions.

Why is it in de feestzaal and not op de feestzaal?

The preposition in indicates location “inside” an enclosed space. You hang decorations in the hall. op means “on top of” or “on,” which wouldn’t make sense for hanging things inside a room.

Why do we say de feestzaal instead of het feestzaal?

Dutch has two definite articles: de for common-gender nouns and het for neuter nouns. zaal (“hall”) is a common-gender noun, so its compounds (like feestzaal) also take de.

Why is feestzaal written as one word instead of two?

Dutch forms compound nouns by joining words without spaces. feestzaal is a fusion of feest (party) + zaal (hall), so you write it as a single word.

What is the normal word order in Anna hangt slingers in de feestzaal, and can I say In de feestzaal hangt Anna slingers?

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in the second position.
Standard S-V-O-Adv order:
1 Anna (S)
2 hangt (V)
3 slingers (O)
4 in de feestzaal (Adv)

If you front the adverbial, the verb stays in second place and the subject moves after it:
In de feestzaal (1) hangt (2) Anna (3) slingers (4).
This version is correct and puts emphasis on the location.