Breakdown of De baas draagt een zilveren horloge en een gouden ring.
een
a/an
en
and
de baas
the boss
het horloge
the watch
dragen
to wear
de ring
the ring
zilveren
silver (adjective)
gouden
golden
Questions & Answers about De baas draagt een zilveren horloge en een gouden ring.
Why do the adjectives end in '-en' (zilveren, gouden)?
In Dutch, adjectives that describe the material something is made of almost always end in -en. This is a fixed ending! Unlike regular adjectives, they don't change based on whether the noun is a de word or a het word.
Horloge is a het word. Doesn't a regular adjective drop its ending after een?
Exactly! If you used a normal adjective like mooi (beautiful), it would be een mooi horloge because you drop the ending for a het word after een. However, material adjectives like zilveren are a special exception and keep their -en ending no matter what.
The English translation says "is wearing". Why is there no translation for "is" in the Dutch sentence?
Dutch rarely uses a continuous form like "is wearing" or "is doing". For clothes or jewelry someone has on right now, you just use the simple present tense verb draagt (from dragen, meaning to wear or to carry).
Does horloge mean clock as well as watch?
No, a horloge specifically refers to a wristwatch or pocket watch. If you are talking about a clock on the wall or an alarm clock, you would use the word de klok.
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