Adjective Basics is the twelfth (assuming left to right) skill in the Dutch language tree. These six lessons prepare the Dutch learner for more adjectives to come in later units by helping them understand the adjective endings of Dutch words.
Tips and notes[]
Adjective Endings[]
Adjective endings in Dutch are a little bit complicated, but are easily explained. The important part is what word comes before the adjective, as adjectives always come before the noun they modify.
De or Het[]
If the adjective follows de, het, or any other possessive or demonstrative pronoun, it will almost always gain an -e ending to the adjective.
- Dit is het kleine meisje.
- Dat is de goede kaas.
Een[]
If the adjective follows no article, een, or any indefinite pronouns, then it will not get the -e if it is a het word and it is in the singular:
- Dit zijn een groot paard en een grote hond.
Predicate adjectives[]
If the sentence looks like "something be adjective" then there are never any endings on the adjective.
- Het is gratis
- Het water is koud.
Unchanging adjectives[]
Some adjectives don't ever get endings at all, regardless of where they are. These adjectives:
- End in -en;
- End in -a or -e;
- Are borrowed words like rubber and plastic;
- Have an ordinal number in the adjective like tweedehands; or
- Are referring to an object that is on the left or on the right. In fact, they might become composite nouns instead.
Lessons[]
Lesson 1[]
- groot = big / large
- grote = big / large
- klein = little / small
- kleine = little / small
- lang = long / tall
- lange = long / tall
Lesson 2[]
- snel = fast
- snelle = fast
- langzaam = slow
- langzame = slow
- goed = good
- kort = short
- korte = short
Lesson 3[]
- sterk = strong
- sterke = strong
- zwaar = heavy
- zware = heavy
- licht = light
- lichte = light
- zwak = weak
- zwakke = weak
- slecht = bad
- slechte = bad
- zacht = soft
Lesson 4[]
- jong = young
- jonge = young
- nieuw = new
- nieuwe = new
- oud = old
- oude = old
- leuk = nice
- leuke = nice
- moeilijk = difficult
- makkelijk = easy
Lesson 5[]
- goedkoop = cheap
- goedkope = cheap
- vol = full / whole
- volle = full / whole
- duur = expensive
- dure = expensive
- vers = fresh
- verse = fresh
- belangrijk = important
- belangrijke = important
- leeg = empty
Lesson 6[]
- warm = warm
- warme = warm
- koud = cold
- koude = cold
- interessant = interesting
- interessante = interesting
- rustig = quiet
- rustige = quiet
- schoon = clean
- schone = clean
- zoals = like (conjunction)
- net zoals = just like (conjunction)
References[]
Duolingo Lesson: www.duolingo.com/skill/dn/Adjective-Basics