Breakdown of De groene appels zijn veel zuurder dan de rode appels.
zijn
to be
veel
much / many / a lot of
de appel
the apple
rood
red
groen
green
dan
than
zuur
sour
Questions & Answers about De groene appels zijn veel zuurder dan de rode appels.
Why does zuurder have a 'd' in it?
The basic word for "sour" is zuur. Normally, you make a comparative adjective by adding -er to the end. However, when a Dutch adjective already ends in the letter -r, you add -der instead to make it easier to pronounce. That is why it becomes zuurder (sourer).
Why do groen and rood get an -e ending here, but zuurder doesn't?
Adjectives usually get an -e ending when they come directly in front of the noun they describe. That is why we say de groene appels and de rode appels. Because zuurder comes after the verb (zijn) and doesn't sit directly in front of a noun, it does not get an extra -e.
Why is rode spelled with only one 'o' when the word for red is rood?
This is because of the Dutch open syllable spelling rule. When you add the -e to rood, the word splits into two syllables: ro - de. Because the first syllable ends in a vowel, it is "open." In an open syllable, a single vowel letter automatically makes a long sound, so we drop the second 'o' because it is no longer needed.
What word do we use for "than" when comparing things in Dutch?
You use dan. When comparing two things with a comparative adjective (like zuurder), you always use dan to mean "than". You might occasionally hear native speakers use als in casual speech, but dan is the grammatically correct word to use here.
Learn De groene appels zijn veel zuurder dan de rode appels and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free