Breakdown of De vogels landen in de tuin als het stil is.
zijn
to be
in
in
het
it
de tuin
the garden
de vogel
the bird
als
when
stil
quiet
landen
to land
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Questions & Answers about De vogels landen in de tuin als het stil is.
Why is it de vogels and not het vogels?
In Dutch, all plural nouns take the definite article de, regardless of their gender. Singular nouns can be de or het, but plurals always use de. Since vogels is the plural of vogel, it becomes de vogels.
Why is vogels in lowercase?
Dutch only capitalizes proper names and the first word of a sentence. Common nouns like vogels remain lowercase, even at the start of a clause they would only be capitalized if they begin the sentence.
Why is the preposition in used instead of op with tuin?
in de tuin means “inside the boundary of the garden.” Use op (“on”) when talking about surfaces (e.g. op de tafel “on the table”). A garden is seen as an enclosed or defined area, so you land in it, not op it.
Can you move in de tuin elsewhere in the sentence?
Yes, Dutch allows some flexibility. You could say:
- In de tuin landen de vogels als het stil is. (placing the location at the front)
- De vogels landen als het stil is in de tuin. (but this last one sounds less natural; locatives usually come right after the verb phrase).
Why is als used for “when” here, and not wanneer or toen?
- als expresses a repeated or habitual condition (“whenever it’s quiet”).
- wanneer is more formal or neutral for both one-time and repeated events.
- toen is used for a single moment in the past.
Since the sentence describes a general habit, als is the most natural choice.
Why does the verb is appear at the end in als het stil is?
In Dutch subordinate clauses (introduced by words like als, omdat, hoewel), the finite verb moves to the very end of that clause. So het is stil (main clause order) becomes als het stil is (subordinate clause order).
What does the het refer to in als het stil is?
Here het is an impersonal or dummy subject, like English “it” in “it’s raining.” There is no specific noun; het simply fills the subject slot so you can say het is stil (“it is quiet”).
Why is stil used instead of the noun stilte?
stil is an adjective meaning “quiet.” You need an adjective after is to describe the (impersonal) subject het. stilte is the noun “silence,” so you would need a different construction, for example:
- als er stilte is (“when there is silence”)
That sentence adds er and switches to a noun-based clause.