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Topic: Dutch

"What is happening in the cave?"

Translation:Wat gebeurt er in de grot?

4 years ago

4 Comments

https://www.duolingo.com/MattZaghainov
MattZaghainov
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Why is "er" needed here at all?

3 years ago
https://www.duolingo.com/Guaranteeist
Guaranteeist
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why can it not be "wat er gebeurt in de grot?" - with the "er" and "gebeurt" swapped around?

4 years ago
https://www.duolingo.com/Simius
Simius
Mod
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This is known as inversion, where the subject follows the verb. It is used for questions and for certain subclauses.

See here for more on inversion and Dutch word order.

4 years ago
https://www.duolingo.com/costyn
costyn
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Your sentence translates as "what happens in the cave" as a statement, not as a question.

3 years ago
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