Breakdown of Dit is het tiende koekje!
zijn
to be
het koekje
the cookie
dit
this (neuter)
tiende
tenth (10th)
Questions & Answers about Dit is het tiende koekje!
How is tiende (tenth) formed?
The Dutch word for ten is tien. To change it into an ordinal number telling you its position, you simply add -de to the end, making tiende. Most numbers between 2 and 19 follow this exact rule.
What if I wanted to say 'the eighth cookie'? Do I just add -de to eight?
No, eight is a special exception. The word for eight is acht. Instead of adding -de, you add -ste to make achtste. The word for first (eerste) is also an exception that uses -ste.
Why do we use het before tiende koekje?
The word koekje is a diminutive, meaning it describes a small version of something, which you can easily spot by the -je ending. In Dutch, all diminutive words are automatically het words.
Would I need to change Dit is to something else if the next word wasn't a het word?
No. When you introduce something by saying 'This is' or 'That is', Dutch keeps it very simple. You always use the fixed phrases Dit is or Dat is, regardless of whether the noun later in the sentence is a de word or a het word.
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