Breakdown of Het water in het meer is vandaag helderder dan gisteren.
zijn
to be
het water
the water
vandaag
today
in
in
gisteren
yesterday
het meer
the lake
dan
than
helder
clear
Questions & Answers about Het water in het meer is vandaag helderder dan gisteren.
Why is the word for clearer helderder and not helderer?
The base adjective is helder (clear). In Dutch, when an adjective ends in an -r, we add -der instead of just -er to make it comparative. This makes it much easier to pronounce!
I thought meer meant "more". Why does it mean "lake" in this sentence?
You are right that meer is the word for "more". However, it is also a noun meaning "lake". You can tell it is the noun "lake" here because it comes right after the "the" article het (het meer).
Why is vandaag (today) placed in the middle of the sentence instead of at the end?
Dutch sentences prefer to put time words as early as possible after the verb. The entire subject is Het water in het meer, which counts as the first "block" of the sentence. The verb is takes the second spot, and the time word vandaag immediately follows it.
Is dan always used for "than" in comparisons?
Yes, when you are comparing two unequal things (like "clearer than"), you use dan in standard Dutch. You will sometimes hear native speakers use als in casual speech, but dan is the correct word to learn and use for "than"!
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