Breakdown of Dat raam is klein, maar die kast is groot.
zijn
to be
groot
big
klein
small
maar
but
dat
that (het-words)
het raam
the window
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
de kast
the cabinet / closet
Questions & Answers about Dat raam is klein, maar die kast is groot.
Why do we use dat for the window but die for the cabinet if both mean "that"?
In Dutch, "that" translates to either dat or die depending on the noun's gender. Because raam (window) is a het-word (het raam), we use dat. Because kast (cabinet) is a de-word (de kast), we use die.
If the sentence were plural ("those windows", "those cabinets"), would I still use dat and die?
No, for plurals you will always use die (meaning "those"), regardless of whether the singular noun is a de-word or a het-word. You would say die ramen and die kasten.
Why don't the adjectives klein and groot get an -e ending here?
When an adjective comes after the noun it describes (usually following a verb like is), it never gets an extra -e ending. We only add the -e when the adjective comes directly before the noun, as in dat kleine raam (that small window).
Does the word maar (but) change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No. The word maar simply links two independent sentences together without scrambling their word order. The second part stays exactly the same as a standalone sentence: subject (die kast) + verb (is) + adjective (groot).
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