Breakdown of De brug is breed, maar die rivier is het breedst.
zijn
to be
maar
but
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
de brug
the bridge
Questions & Answers about De brug is breed, maar die rivier is het breedst.
Why do we say het breedst when rivier is a de word (de rivier)?
When a superlative describes something but comes after the verb (like "is the widest" here), we always put het in front of it. This applies to all nouns, even de words like rivier.
How is the superlative formed for breed?
You simply add -st to the end of the adjective. So breed (wide) becomes breedst (widest).
Why doesn't breedst get an extra -e at the end here?
Because it is not placed directly before a noun. If you were saying "the widest river", it would be de breedste rivier. But when it stands alone at the end of the sentence with het, it keeps the short form breedst.
Why do we use die for "that river" instead of dat?
The word for river is de rivier. Since it is a de word, "that" translates to die. You only use dat for het words.
Does maar (but) change the word order in the second part of the sentence?