Breakdown of Ik wil een groot rood schilderij kopen.
ik
I
een
a/an
groot
big
kopen
to buy
willen
to want
het schilderij
the painting
rood
red
Questions & Answers about Ik wil een groot rood schilderij kopen.
Why do groot and rood not have an -e at the end?
Schilderij is a het word (het schilderij). When you use an adjective before a singular het word with een (a/an), the adjective does not get an -e ending. This applies to all adjectives in a row, so both groot and rood stay in their basic, short form.
Is there a trick to remember that schilderij is a het word?
Normally, Dutch words ending in -ij (like de bakkerij) are de words. However, schilderij is a very common exception! You just have to memorize that it is het schilderij, which is why it drops the -e on the adjectives in this sentence.
Why is kopen (to buy) at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you have a helping verb like wil (want), the main action verb goes to the very end of the sentence. So instead of saying 'I want to buy a large red painting', the Dutch structure is 'I want a large red painting to buy' (Ik wil ... kopen).
Do I need a comma between groot and rood?
No, you do not need a comma between multiple adjectives in Dutch when they describe the noun directly like this. And remember, the rule for dropping the -e ending applies to both of them equally!
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