Breakdown of Ik zie niets lelijks op het schilderij.
ik
I
zien
to see
op
on
het schilderij
the painting
niets
nothing
lelijk
ugly
Questions & Answers about Ik zie niets lelijks op het schilderij.
Why is there an -s at the end of lelijks?
After words like niets (nothing), iets (something), wat (something/some), or veel (much), we add an -s to the adjective describing them. The base word is lelijk (ugly), so it becomes niets lelijks (nothing ugly).
The English translation says "in the painting", but the Dutch sentence uses op. Why?
In Dutch, you literally say you see something on (op) a picture, photo, screen, or painting (schilderij), because it is viewed as a flat surface. Using in would sound like the object is physically stuffed inside the frame or canvas!
Could I say niks lelijks instead of niets lelijks?
Yes, absolutely! Niks and niets both mean "nothing" and mean exactly the same thing here. Niets is slightly more formal, while niks is very common in everyday spoken Dutch. The rule for adding the -s to the adjective works exactly the same for both.
Why is it het schilderij and not de schilderij?
Dutch nouns ending in -erij (like de bakkerij or de boerderij) are almost always de words. However, schilderij is a rare exception! It is a neuter noun, so you must use het.
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