Anna leest een roman in de trein.

Anna is reading a novel on the train.

Breakdown of Anna leest een roman in de trein.

• Anna: Anna
• lezen: to read
• een: a, an
• de trein: the train
• de roman: the novel
• in: on

Questions & Answers about Anna leest een roman in de trein.

Why is it leest and not lees in this sentence?

The verb is lezen (to read).

To conjugate in the present tense:

• ik lees – I read
• jij / je leest – you read
• hij / zij / Anna leest – he / she / Anna reads

For he / she / it / names, Dutch adds -t to the stem:

• Infinitive: lezen
• Stem: lees (drop -en, and z becomes s)
• 3rd person singular: leest (lees
  • t)

Since Anna is 3rd person singular, you must use leest, not lees.

Why can Anna leest een roman in de trein mean both “Anna reads” and “Anna is reading”?

Dutch usually has one present tense form for both:

• Anna leest een roman in de trein.
  = Anna reads a novel on the train. (habitually)
  = Anna is reading a novel on the train. (right now)

Context decides whether it’s a general habit or something happening at this moment.

If you really want to stress “right now”, you can say:

• Anna is een roman aan het lezen in de trein.
  (very explicitly progressive: “is reading right now”)

Why do we need een before roman? Can we say just Anna leest roman?

You need een here because roman is a countable singular noun.

• een roman = a novel
• Without een, a singular countable noun is usually ungrammatical in Dutch:
  • ✗ Anna leest roman. (incorrect in standard Dutch)

You can omit the article in some special cases (professions, roles, etc.), e.g.:

• Zij is lerares. – She is (a) teacher.

But for objects like roman, you use een (or de / het if you mean a specific one).

How do you pronounce een, and is it the same as “one”?

There are two different words in writing and pronunciation:

1. een (without accent) = a / an

   • Pronounced like an unstressed “uhn” or schwa: very short, like the second syllable of “taken”.

2. één (with accent) = one (the number 1)

   • Pronounced with a long clear ee: “ayn” (like English “ain” in “again”, but longer).

In Anna leest een roman in de trein, it’s the indefinite article (a novel), so it’s the weakly pronounced een (uhn), not één.

What’s the difference between roman and boek?

• roman = specifically a novel, a work of fiction.
• boek = book in general (could be a textbook, cookbook, children’s book, etc.).

So:

• Anna leest een roman. – Anna is reading a novel.
• Anna leest een boek. – Anna is reading a book. (type not specified)

Why is it de trein and not het trein?

In Dutch, every noun has a grammatical gender:

• de-words (common gender)
• het-words (neuter)

The word trein happens to be a de-word, so:

• de trein – the train
  (never het trein)

There is no simple rule that lets you always guess correctly; you usually need to learn each noun together with its article:

• de trein
• de roman
• het boek
• het huis

Why is it in de trein and not on the train like in English?

Dutch uses in with many means of transport where English says “on”:

• in de trein – on the train / in the train
• in de bus – on the bus
• in de auto – in the car

The literal translation would be “in the train”, but idiomatically in English we say “on the train”. In Dutch, in de trein is the normal expression.

Is the word order Anna leest een roman in de trein fixed, or can I move in de trein?

The basic neutral order in a main clause is:

Subject – Verb – (Object) – Other information

So:

• Anna (subject)
• leest (verb)
• een roman (direct object)
• in de trein (place)

This is the most neutral and common version:
Anna leest een roman in de trein.

You can move in de trein, but the nuance changes slightly:

• Anna leest in de trein een roman.
  Possible, but sounds a bit marked; often used if you contrast where she reads, or if more follows.

• In de trein leest Anna een roman.
  This puts emphasis on in the train (for example, contrasting it with thuis – at home).

Can I start the sentence with In de trein?

Yes:

• In de trein leest Anna een roman.

Dutch likes the pattern: [Something] – verb – subject – (rest) when you move an element to the front (the verb must stay in second position):

• Vandaag leest Anna een roman. – Today Anna reads a novel.
• In de trein leest Anna een roman.

Both are correct; starting with In de trein emphasizes the location.

How do I make this sentence negative in Dutch?

You usually add niet near the end of the clause, after the direct object:

• Anna leest geen roman in de trein. – Anna is not reading a novel on the train.
  (geen roman = no novel / not a novel)

If you specifically want to negate the whole activity “reading a novel in the train” in a simple way, geen is more natural here:

• Anna leest geen roman in de trein. (She doesn’t read any novel on the train.)

If you want to negate something else (like the place: “not on the train but somewhere else”), you’d use niet differently, e.g.:

• Anna leest een roman, maar niet in de trein. – … but not on the train.

How do I turn this into a yes–no question in Dutch?

In a yes–no question, Dutch puts the verb first:

• Statement: Anna leest een roman in de trein.
• Question: Leest Anna een roman in de trein? – Is Anna reading a novel on the train?

Intonation also helps: your pitch rises at the end of the question.

How would I say this sentence in the past tense?

The simple past of lezen is las (3rd person singular):

• Anna las een roman in de trein.
  – Anna read a novel on the train.

Some forms of lezen:

• ik las – I read
• jij / hij / Anna las – you / he / Anna read
• wij / jullie / zij lazen – we / you (pl.) / they read

Is there a more explicit Dutch way to say “Anna is reading a novel on the train right now”?

Yes, Dutch has a progressive construction:

• Anna is een roman aan het lezen in de trein.

This strongly emphasizes an ongoing action “right now”. Compare:

• Anna leest een roman in de trein. – could be now, or a general habit.
• Anna is een roman aan het lezen in de trein. – clearly happening at this moment.