Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Een hoofdstad is vaak druk.
What does een mean in this sentence?
een is the indefinite article in Dutch, equivalent to a or an in English. It introduces hoofdstad in a general sense (“a capital city,” not a specific one).
Why don’t we use de instead of een here?
de is the definite article (“the”). Using een makes the statement general—“a capital is often busy”—whereas de hoofdstad would refer to one specific capital (“the capital is often busy”).
What does hoofdstad mean, and why is it one word?
hoofdstad means capital city. Dutch commonly forms compound nouns by joining words together, so hoofd (head) + stad (city) becomes one word: hoofdstad.
Why is vaak placed after is, instead of at the beginning or end?
Dutch follows a verb-second (V2) word order: the finite verb (is) must be the second element. Here the subject (Een hoofdstad) is first, the verb (is) is second, and then the adverb (vaak) follows. You could move vaak to the front—Vaak is een hoofdstad druk—but then you still keep the verb in second position.
What part of speech is vaak, and what does it mean?
vaak is an adverb meaning often or frequently. It modifies the verb is, telling us how often capitals tend to be busy.
Why is druk not drukke here? Aren’t adjectives usually inflected in Dutch?
When an adjective follows a linking verb like is (predicative use), it remains in its base form, just like in English. You only add -e (as in drukke) when the adjective directly modifies a noun: for example, een drukke stad (“a busy city”).
Could we say De hoofdstad is vaak druk instead?
Yes—De hoofdstad is vaak druk is perfectly correct but changes the meaning to talk about one specific capital (“the capital is often busy”) rather than any capital in general.
What’s the difference between vaak and veel? Could we use veel druk?
vaak means often (frequency), while veel means many or much (quantity). You cannot say veel druk for “often busy.” Instead, you could say zeer druk (“very busy”) or erg druk (“quite busy”).
Why is the present tense is used? Could we use another verb for “to be busy”?
The present tense is expresses a general truth: capitals tend to be busy. You could also use wordt (“becomes”) if you want to say “a capital often becomes busy” (Een hoofdstad wordt vaak druk), but that implies a change of state rather than a typical condition.