Breakdown of Die schoenen zijn veertig euro.
zijn
to be
de schoen
the shoe
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
de euro
the euro
veertig
forty
Questions & Answers about Die schoenen zijn veertig euro.
Why is 40 spelled veertig when the number 4 is vier?
Just like in English where "four" changes spelling to become "forty", Dutch does something similar. The "i" in vier is dropped to make veertig. It's a small exception you just have to memorize.
How do you pronounce the end of veertig?
When a Dutch number ends in -ig, that ending is pronounced like "uhg" (a short "uh" sound followed by the scraping Dutch G). So veertig sounds a bit like "veer-tuhg".
Why isn't euro plural in the Dutch sentence?
In Dutch, currencies like euro and dollar, as well as units of measurement, stay in the singular form when they come after a number. Even though you are talking about forty of them, you just say veertig euro.
Could I use dat instead of die to say "those shoes"?
No, because schoenen is a plural noun. In Dutch, you always use die (those) or deze (these) when pointing out plural nouns, regardless of whether the singular word uses de or het.
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