Learn Hardcore Dutch: De artiest zingt een lied voor de mensen in het park. - The artist sings a song for the people in the park.

In Dutch present‐tense conjugation, the stem of zingen is zing. For third‐person singular subjects (hij/zij/het – here de artiest), you add -t, giving zingt. So:

ik zing
jij zingt
hij/zij/het zingt

Using just zing would be the first‐person singular form, and there is no -ed ending in Dutch present tense.

Why is it de artiest but het park?

Dutch nouns are either common‐gender (de) or neuter (het). There is no simple rule, so you often have to memorize or use a dictionary. However:

de artiest is common gender → de
het park is neuter → het

A helpful tip: most diminutives (e.g. parkje) are neuter and take het, but beyond that you’ll have to learn as you go.

Why isn’t it een lied “het lied” if you’re talking about a specific song?

Een is the indefinite article (“a/an”) for any singular noun, common or neuter. You use een lied when you simply say “a song.” If you meant the song, you’d switch to the definite article:

De artiest zingt het lied voor de mensen in het park.

Why does de mensen use de in the plural, even though mensen (people) comes from a neuter word?

In Dutch, the rule is straightforward: all plural nouns, regardless of gender, take de as the definite article. So you always say de mensen, de boeken, de huizen, etc.

How do the prepositional phrases voor de mensen and in het park function, and can I swap their order?

Both are adverbial phrases modifying zingt:

voor de mensen = the beneficiaries (“for the people”)
in het park = the location

The neutral word order in a simple Dutch sentence is Subject – Verb – Objects/Complements. You could swap the two prepositional phrases for emphasis, but the original order feels most natural:

De artiest zingt een lied voor de mensen in het park.
…een lied in het park voor de mensen. ← less common, shifts focus.

Does voor always translate to for in English?

No, voor has several uses:

“for” as in benefit: “voor de mensen” = for the people
“in front of”: “voor het huis” = in front of the house
“before/in advance”: “voor negen uur” = before nine o’clock
Context tells you which meaning applies.

Why is the verb always in second position: De artiest zingt…?

Dutch is a V2‐language (verb‐second). In main clauses, the finite verb must occupy the second position:

[Subject] – [Verb] – [Rest of sentence]
So even if you start with a different element (time, place), the verb still comes second:
- In het park zingt de artiest een lied voor de mensen.