Breakdown of Ik bevestig onze boeking voor het vakantiehuis.
ik
I
onze
our
voor
for
bevestigen
to confirm
de boeking
the booking
het vakantiehuis
the holiday home
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Questions & Answers about Ik bevestig onze boeking voor het vakantiehuis.
What does the noun boeking mean, and how is it different from reservering?
boeking literally means “booking” and refers to the act or record of reserving something, much like the English word “booking.” reservering also means “reservation” and is the traditional Dutch term. In practice they are interchangeable, though reservering may sound a bit more formal, while boeking (especially in the travel and hospitality industry) feels more business-oriented.
Why do we say onze boeking instead of ons boeking?
Dutch has two forms of “our”: onze and ons. You use onze with plural nouns and with singular nouns that take the article de (common gender). ons is used with singular nouns that take het (neuter gender). Since boeking is a de-word, you say onze boeking.
How do you conjugate the verb bevestigen, and why is it bevestig in this sentence?
The infinitive is bevestigen (“to confirm”). In the present tense you drop -en to get the stem bevestig-, then add endings:
• ik bevestig
• jij bevestigt
• hij/zij bevestigt
• wij bevestigen, etc.
Here “ik” (first person singular) pairs with the bare stem, so ik bevestig is correct.
Why does the verb bevestig come right after ik? Could the object come before the verb?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second position. With ik in first position, bevestig comes second. The object (onze boeking) follows the verb. If you start with another element (e.g. Morgen bevestig ik…), ik would follow the verb.
Why do we use the preposition voor here? Could we use something else?
voor translates to “for” and is the usual collocation with boeking/reservering when specifying what you are booking something for. You confirm a reservation for a holiday home: boeking voor het vakantiehuis. You could rephrase with van (“booking of the holiday home”), but in Dutch boeking voor is more common.
Why is it het vakantiehuis instead of de vakantiehuis?
vakantiehuis is a compound of vakantie (feminine) + huis (neuter). In Dutch compounds take the gender of the final element. Since huis is neuter (a het-word), vakantiehuis is also a het-word, so you say het vakantiehuis.
How do you form the plural of vakantiehuis, and how would you say “our holiday homes”?
The plural of huis is huizen (the vowel stays the same), so vakantiehuis becomes vakantiehuizen. For “our holiday homes” you use onze (plural), giving onze vakantiehuizen.