Breakdown of Die slechte film is lang.
zijn
to be
de film
the film
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
slecht
bad
lang
long
Questions & Answers about Die slechte film is lang.
Why does slechte have an -e at the end, but lang doesn't?
Slechte comes right before the noun it describes (film). Adjectives that come directly before nouns usually get an -e ending. However, lang comes after the verb is. Adjectives that stand alone after a verb never get the -e ending.
Why is it die film and not dat film?
Film is a de-word (de film). When pointing out a de-word ('that'), you must use die. If it were a het-word, you would use dat.
If I change the sentence to start with 'A bad film', does the adjective still keep the -e?
Yes! It becomes een slechte film. Because film is a de-word, the adjective in front of it always gets the -e ending, even if you use een ('a'). You only drop the -e when you use een with a het-word.
How do you pronounce the -e at the end of slechte?
The -e is pronounced as a 'schwa' sound. This is a very short, relaxed 'uh' sound, similar to the 'a' in the English word 'about'.
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