New Year's Fireworks
During the turn of the year (de jaarwisseling), setting off fireworks is a major tradition in the Netherlands. We will use this explosive topic to practice making comparisons.
| the fireworks | het vuurwerk |
Multiplicative Comparisons
To express that a firework is "twice as expensive" or "three times as bright," Dutch uses a consistent formula:
[number] + keer zo + [adjective] + als
- twee keer zo duur als (twice as expensive as)
- drie keer zo fel als (three times as bright as)
Note: You might occasionally see maal zo used instead of keer zo (e.g., twee maal zo duur). Both mean exactly the same thing, but keer zo is much more common in everyday speech.
| During the turn of the year, these fireworks are twice as expensive as last year. | Tijdens de jaarwisseling is dit vuurwerk twee keer zo duur als vorig jaar. |
| That red firework rocket is three times as bright as the green one. | Die rode vuurpijl is drie keer zo fel als de groene. |
| The bang was four times as loud as normal. | De knal was vier keer zo luid als normaal. |
Fractions: Half zo ... als
When you want to say something is "half as" loud or long, you do not use the word keer. Instead, you simply use half zo directly before the adjective:
half zo + [adjective] + als
| I thought that the bang of this firecracker was half as loud as in the past. | Ik dacht dat de knal van dit rotje half zo luid was als vroeger. |
| The fuse of that illegal firecracker is half as long as a normal fuse. | De lont van dat illegale rotje is half zo lang als een normale lont. |
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