Breakdown of Hij heeft de grappigste grap gemaakt.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
maken
to make
de grap
the joke
grappig
funny
Questions & Answers about Hij heeft de grappigste grap gemaakt.
Why is there an "-e" at the end of grappigste?
Grappigste is the superlative form of grappig (funny). In Dutch, when you put a superlative adjective right before a noun and use a definite article like de, you must add an -e to the end of the adjective. Since it is de grap, grappigst becomes grappigste.
How do you build the superlative form for this word?
The base adjective is grappig (funny). To make the superlative (the "-est" or "most" form), you add -st to the end, giving you grappigst.
In English we usually "tell" a joke. Why does this sentence use gemaakt (made)?
In Dutch, the standard expression is een grap maken (literally to make a joke). You can also use the phrase een mop vertellen (to tell a joke), but when using the word grap, the verb maken is the natural choice.
Why does gemaakt go at the very end of the sentence?
This is a standard rule for the present perfect tense in Dutch. The conjugated helping verb heeft takes the second position in the sentence, but the past participle gemaakt is pushed all the way to the end.
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