Breakdown of De vierde en de vijfde jas zijn erg mooi.
zijn
to be
en
and
de jas
the coat
mooi
beautiful
erg
very / really
vierde
fourth (4th)
vijfde
fifth (5th)
Questions & Answers about De vierde en de vijfde jas zijn erg mooi.
How do we make 'vier' and 'vijf' into ordinal numbers here?
You simply add -de to the end of the number. So vier (four) becomes vierde (fourth), and vijf (five) becomes vijfde (fifth). Most numbers up to 19 follow this -de rule, with a few exceptions like 1st (eerste) and 8th (achtste).
Why does the sentence use the plural verb zijn (are) if jas (coat) is singular?
Even though the word jas is singular, the sentence is about two coats in total: the fourth one and the fifth one. Because there are two subjects joined by en (and), we must use the plural verb zijn.
Why isn't the word jas repeated after vierde?
Just like in English, you don't need to repeat the noun if it's obvious. You could say De vierde jas en de vijfde jas, but leaving out the first jas is completely fine and sounds much more natural.
Why doesn't mooi (beautiful) get an -e added to the end?
Adjectives only get an extra -e when they are placed directly in front of the noun (like de mooie jas). Here, mooi comes later in the sentence after the verb zijn, so it stays in its basic dictionary form.
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