Breakdown of Het hotel heeft niet dertien, maar veertien kamers.
niet
not
maar
but
hebben
to have
de kamer
the room
Questions & Answers about Het hotel heeft niet dertien, maar veertien kamers.
Why is fourteen veertien and not viertien?
The number four is vier, but when it becomes fourteen, the spelling changes slightly to veertien. This is a small exception you just have to memorize.
Does thirteen also change its spelling from the number three?
Yes! The number three is drie, but thirteen is dertien. It drops the ie spelling completely. Both dertien and veertien are important exceptions when learning the numbers 11 through 20.
Why is niet placed right before dertien here?
In Dutch, niet (not) goes directly in front of the specific detail you want to negate. Since the sentence specifically contrasts the numbers (not thirteen, but fourteen), niet goes right before dertien.
How do we know to add an -s to make kamers plural, instead of -en?
Many Dutch nouns add -en for the plural, but words ending in the sounds -el, -em, -en, or -er almost always get an -s. Since kamer ends in -er, the plural is kamers.