Breakdown of Anna zoekt de afdeling groenten en fruit in de supermarkt.
Anna
Anna
in
in
en
and
de groente
the vegetable
het fruit
the fruit
zoeken
to look for
de supermarkt
the supermarket
de afdeling
the department
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Questions & Answers about Anna zoekt de afdeling groenten en fruit in de supermarkt.
What does afdeling mean?
The Dutch noun afdeling means department or section, as in a part of a store, library, museum, etc. In this context it’s the “vegetables and fruit department.”
Why does zoekt end in -t?
In Dutch, the present-tense form for third-person singular (he/she/it) adds -t to the verb stem. The infinitive is zoeken (“to look for”), so the stem is zoek. Conjugation looks like:
• ik zoek
• jij/u zoekt
• hij/zij/het zoekt
• wij/jullie/zij zoeken
Why is there only one de before afdeling, and none before groenten or fruit?
The article de belongs to the head noun afdeling. The words groenten and fruit simply specify what kind of afdeling it is (“the vegetables and fruit section”). It’s like English “the fruit and vegetable department”—you don’t repeat “the.”
Could you say de afdeling van groenten en fruit instead?
Yes, but it’s less idiomatic. Dutch often links nouns directly without van. de afdeling groenten en fruit is more concise than de afdeling van groenten en fruit.
Why does groenten have an -en ending, but fruit stays the same?
groente (“vegetable”) is a countable noun, so its plural is groenten. fruit is treated as an uncountable (mass) noun in Dutch and remains fruit in both singular and general contexts.
What’s the difference between in de supermarkt and naar de supermarkt?
in de supermarkt indicates location (“inside the supermarket”). naar de supermarkt indicates direction or motion (“to the supermarket”).
- Anna zoekt iets in de supermarkt → she’s already inside looking around.
- Anna gaat naar de supermarkt → she’s going there.
How does the word order work in this sentence?
Dutch main clauses use Subject-Verb-Object with the finite verb in second position, just like English. In “Anna zoekt de afdeling groenten en fruit in de supermarkt” you have:
- Subject = Anna
- Finite verb = zoekt
- Objects/adverbials = de afdeling groenten en fruit in de supermarkt