Twenty Questions Game

[barbara]

Is het een herbivoor?
Is it a herbivore?

(Corrected herbivorian! LOL, cannot even write it in English let go in Dutch)

[Tom]

Nee, het is geen herbivoor.
No, it is not a herbivore.

O.K, hier komt de volgende spoor.
Okay, here comes the next clue.

Het maakt zijn eten schoon alvorens het op te eten.
It cleans its food before eating it.

Succes!
Good luck!

Tom

[Laura]

Woont het meer an de land of an de water?
Does it live more on the land or in the water?

Actually what I wanted to ask was "does it spend more time...." but I couldn't figure it out.

LJ

(bursting with excitement at playing a biology-related game!!!)

[Tom]

First lets deal with the game.
Questions should be of the form that would result in a purely Yes or No answer.

So I assume you are asking if it lives mostly on land as opposed to anything that is not land.

Het antwoord is “Ja, meestal woont het op het land.”
Yes, most of the time, it lives on land.
…

Now for some side comments that are not directly related to the game. I hope they are of some help to others. If I have made mistakes and am corrected, it will be helpful to me.

“Aan” of “op”?
“Aan” or “op”?

This is complex for English speakers. Also, this is my no means a complete summary of when to use “aan” and “op”.

If something is “on” in a vertical sort of way we use “aan”.
If something is “on” in a horizontal sort of way we use “op”.

But if you are talking about the edge or border of something then it is “aan” (on/along or at).

Aan de muur (since most walls are vertical)
Aan de kust – (on the coast – along the coast)
Aan zee – (We spent our vacation at the seaside.)
Op zee - (The ship was at sea.)

Aan tafel – We sit at the table.
Op tafel – The bowl is on the table.

…

Aan land gaan – go ashore (this implies an edge or border – between a body of water and a piece of earth)

Op het land – (on a piece of earth)

Well, I think in your question, it is “op”. But not because I used the rules above.
It is because when I heard “op het land” my mind immediately associated it with a song in “De Kleine Zeemeermin”. Here is an excerpt from the song “Geef me vleugels” – “Give me wings”.

ik mis de zon, ik mis de wind
I miss the sun, I miss the wind,

de geur van gras en bomen
the fragrance of grass and trees

ik mis een zacht en warm bed
I miss a soft and warm bed

om nachten in te dromen
at night to dream in

ik mis het leven op het land
I miss life on the land

maar leef mijn lot gedwee
but humbly endure my fate

een zeemeermin hoort daar niet thuis maar wel diep in de zee
a mermaid does not belong there (cannot be at home there), but does deep in the sea.

…

This is my best translation of what it says. I think it is a beautiful song. The quality of the shows that “Studio 100” produces is wonderful. I was never disappointed.

You can see the whole song and more at http://www.studio100fan.nl/musicals/kle ... ngs&id=362

[Laura]

Dank je wel, I appreciate your clear explanation very much.
As you can see I really have no idea what I am doing, but I am very keen to join in.

I'll write a closed question next time.
How about:

Het dier een lange staart hebben?
Does the animal have a long tail?

LJ
p.s. Concerning the metaphorical ship of Dutch students on different decks - I am in the bilges.

[Tom]

Heeft het dier een lange staart?

Ja, hun staarten zijn lang.
Yes, their tails are long.

[Bieneke]

Wordt hun vacht soms voor bontjassen gebruikt?
Is their fur perhaps used for fur coats?

Sorry hoor, ik vind het zo'n leuk spelletje!
Sorry, I just like this game so much!

[Tom]

Ja, jammer genoeg wel.
Yes, sadly enough, it's true.

Here is an example of association:

Immediately after reading you question, I remembered this song from “Urbanus van Anus”. It can be found here:
http://home.tiscali.be/waltertje/walter ... ontjas.htm

Here is a line from it.
Madammen met een bontjas zijn gemeen
Women with a fur coat are vile/mean/nasty (take your pick)

I think the song is quite good. He is one of my favorite comedians!

Tom

[LaPingvino]

Is het een lief schattig zeehondje...?

[Tom]

Nee, het is geen zeehond.
No, it is not a seal.



Hebben zeehonden een lange staart?
Do seals have a long tail?

[Laura]

Woont het aan de kust?

How many questions have we asked by the way?

(Hmm, possibly I should try and say that in Dutch.....)
Hoeveel vragen hebben wij gesteld?

("by the way" defeated me!)

[Tom]

Nee, eigenlijk niet.
No, actually not.

Kijk eens heel goed na het onderwerp. Daar staat het nummer van dit antwoord..
Take a look at the subject. There is the number of this answer.

Nummer = number

I forgot to translate that word.

Wat bedoel je bij “("by the way" defeated me!)”?
What do you mean by “("by the way" defeated me!)”?

Tom

Nog een vraag. dan krijgen jullie nog een spoor.
Another question, then you get another clue.

[Marco]

Alright you guys, her are some small corrections:

Tom:
het spoor, but it's more appropriate to use 'de aanwijzing' (= the clue) in that context.
You get extra credit for 'alvorens'!

om nachten in te dromen --> literally 'to dream nights in', but I guess they don't mean that with it, more something like what you said.

Kijk eens goed naar het onderwerp

Wat bedoel je met?
(I think Laura means that she couldn't come up with a translation for 'by the way' )

Laura:
Tom already corrected some of your mistakes, try to learn from what he wrote. Very good, Tom!

Otherwise:
het land & het water

"by the way" --> in this context "eigenlijk al"
Hoeveel vragen hebben we eigenlijk al gesteld?
(Very good of you that you had the rest of that sentence correct! )

Succes!
Good luck!

[Jimmy]

Ik dink het is een leeuw.

I think it is a lion.

[annickburn]

Woont het aan de kust?

How many questions have we asked by the way?

(Hmm, possibly I should try and say that in Dutch.....)
Hoeveel vragen hebben wij gesteld?

("by the way" defeated me!)

I think that "By the way" is TROUWENS but I don't know how you use it in your sentence....

Trouwens, hoeveel vragen hebben wij gesteld?......?????????