Questions & Answers about De auto is niet goedkoop, maar duur.
This lesson is about geen, so why does this sentence use niet?
Why does niet come right before goedkoop?
In Dutch, when you want to negate a specific descriptive word (an adjective), you place niet directly in front of it. This clearly links the negation to the word, showing that the car is specifically "not cheap".
The word goedkoop looks like a combination of two words. Is it?
Yes! It is made of goed (good) and koop (buy or purchase). So a "good buy" is the Dutch way of saying cheap. Its direct opposite, as seen in the second half of this sentence, is duur (expensive).
Can I say maar de auto is duur instead of just maar duur?