Breakdown of We kopen een paars schilderij.
kopen
to buy
het schilderij
the painting
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
paars
purple
Questions & Answers about We kopen een paars schilderij.
Why is it paars and not paarse?
In Dutch, adjectives usually get an extra -e at the end. However, there is a special rule for het words. Because schilderij is a het word (het schilderij), and it is singular and used here with een (a/an), the adjective drops the -e. So it stays een paars schilderij.
Would it be paarse if we bought 'the' purple painting?
Yes! If you use the specific article het instead of the general een, that special rule disappears and you go back to adding the -e. It becomes het paarse schilderij.
How can I know that schilderij is a het word?
Noun genders usually just have to be memorized, but schilderij is actually a tricky exception to a rule! Most Dutch words ending in -ij (like de bakkerij) are de words. Het schilderij is one of the rare exceptions to learn by heart.
Why is there no word for 'are' in We kopen?
Dutch doesn't have a direct equivalent for the English 'are doing' tense. The simple present tense We kopen perfectly translates to both 'We buy' and 'We are buying'.
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