When you describe someone or something in Dutch, the adjective sits in one of two places, and the place decides its shape. After a verb like zijn (to be), the adjective stays exactly as you learned it — bare, no ending — and this matches English perfectly: Hij is lang ("He is tall"). But in front of a noun, the adjective almost always grows an -e: een lange man ("a tall man"). That extra -e is the whole new idea of this page, and the fastest way to feel it is to watch one adjective hop between the two spots: De jas is lang → een lange jas. Same word, same meaning, different position — and so a different ending.
After the verb: the adjective stays bare
When the adjective comes after a verb (describing the subject), it never changes. This is the easy half, because it works just like English: you say what something is.
Hij is lang.
He is tall. The adjective 'lang' sits after 'is' — bare, no ending.
De auto is rood.
The car is red. 'rood' comes after 'is', so it stays bare.
Het huis is oud en de tuin is klein.
The house is old and the garden is small. Both adjectives follow a verb → both bare: oud, klein.
This position is called predicate position (the adjective is part of the predicate, the "what-we-say-about-the-subject" part). The one rule to remember: after a verb, do nothing. No -e, ever.
Die schoenen zijn nieuw en heel mooi.
Those shoes are new and very nice. Even with a plural subject, predicate adjectives stay bare: nieuw, mooi.
In front of the noun: add -e
Now move the same adjective in front of the noun it describes. This is attributive position, and here Dutch adds an -e.
een grote hond
a big dog. The adjective 'groot' sits before the noun 'hond' → it takes -e and becomes 'grote' (and drops one 'o' — see the spelling note below).
een mooie tuin, de oude man, kleine kinderen
a beautiful garden, the old man, small children. All in front of a noun → all take -e: mooie, oude, kleine.
The contrast is the whole lesson. Watch lang move from after the verb to in front of the noun:
| After the verb (bare) | In front of the noun (-e) |
|---|---|
| De man is lang. | een lange man |
| De auto is rood. | de rode auto |
| Het huis is oud. | het oude huis |
| De soep is lekker. | de lekkere soep |
The everyday adjectives to drill
Here are the six you will use constantly. Practise each one in both positions.
een groot huis... het huis is groot
a big house... the house is big. (groot — note: 'een groot huis' is the one case that stays bare; see the next section.)
een kleine kamer, de kamer is klein
a small room, the room is small. klein → kleine before the noun.
een mooie foto, de foto is mooi
a beautiful photo, the photo is beautiful. mooi → mooie.
een oude fiets, de fiets is oud
an old bike, the bike is old. oud → oude.
een nieuwe telefoon, de telefoon is nieuw
a new phone, the phone is new. nieuw → nieuwe.
lekker eten, het eten is lekker
tasty food, the food is tasty. (Here 'lekker eten' stays bare — see why below.)
The one time the -e stays off in front of a noun
You may have noticed een groot huis and lekker eten kept the adjective bare even before the noun. That is the single exception to the -e rule, and at A1 you only need to recognise it, not master it: when the noun is a het-word and it has een (or no article) in front, the adjective stays bare.
een groot huis, een klein kind, lekker eten
a big house, a small child, tasty food. These are all het-words with 'een' / no article → adjective stays bare: groot, klein, lekker.
een grote tafel, maar een groot huis
a big table, but a big house. 'tafel' is a de-word (→ grote), 'huis' is a het-word with 'een' (→ groot stays bare).
The full version of this rule, with all its corners, lives on The -e Rule and Its One Big Exception and the practice page Applying the -e Rule. For now, the headline is: almost always add -e before a noun; the only hold-out is a het-word with een.
A spelling heads-up
Adding -e sometimes changes the spelling of the rest of the word, because Dutch keeps vowels sounding the same:
- groot → grote (drop one o)
- oud → oude (no change)
- but dik → dikke (double the k)
een grote hond en een dikke kat
a big dog and a fat cat. groot loses an 'o' (grote); dik doubles the 'k' (dikke).
You do not need to master the spelling yet — just do not be surprised when groot becomes grote rather than groote.
Common Mistakes
The two errors are mirror images: forgetting the -e before a noun (the English no-ending habit), and wrongly adding one after a verb (over-correcting).
❌ een groot hond, de oud man
Incorrect — these are de-words, so the adjective before the noun takes -e: 'een grote hond', 'de oude man'. Dropping the -e is the classic English habit.
✅ een grote hond, de oude man
a big dog, the old man.
❌ De auto is rode.
Incorrect — after a verb the adjective stays bare. Say 'De auto is rood'. Don't add -e in predicate position.
✅ De auto is rood.
The car is red.
❌ Hij is lange.
Incorrect — 'lang' follows the verb 'is', so no ending: 'Hij is lang'.
✅ Hij is lang.
He is tall.
❌ een mooi tuin, de klein kamer
Incorrect — 'tuin' and 'kamer' are de-words; the adjective before them takes -e: 'een mooie tuin', 'de kleine kamer'.
✅ een mooie tuin, de kleine kamer
a beautiful garden, the small room.
Key Takeaways
- After a verb (predicate): the adjective stays bare — Hij is lang, De auto is rood. This matches English.
- Before a noun (attributive): the adjective almost always takes -e — een lange man, de rode auto.
- Drill the same adjective in both spots: De jas is lang → een lange jas.
- The one exception before a noun: a het-word with een keeps it bare — een groot huis, lekker eten.
- Adding -e can change the spelling: groot → grote, dik → dikke.
Now practice Dutch
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Predicate vs Attributive AdjectivesA1 — An adjective before a noun (attributive) may take -e; an adjective after a linking verb like zijn (predicate) never does. Recognising which slot you're in tells you instantly whether the -e rule even applies — and the predicate slot behaves exactly like English.
- Applying the Adjective -e Rule (A1)A1 — A hands-on drill page for the one adjective rule you need at A1: before a noun, add -e — except for a singular het-word with een (or no article), which stays bare (een mooi huis). After a verb like zijn, never add anything. Build the forms step by step until it's automatic.
- The -e Rule and Its One Big ExceptionA1 — Before a noun, a Dutch adjective takes -e — always — with exactly one exception: a singular het-word introduced by een or no article keeps the adjective bare (een mooi huis). Master that one cell and the whole rule is yours.
- Adjectives: OverviewA1 — Dutch adjectives have essentially one ending — the -e you add before a noun — plus a single famous exception (a het-word with een or no article stays bare), while predicate adjectives never change at all. Comparison adds -er and -st. After German's case-driven endings, this is a relief.