Questions & Answers about De woonkamer is groot en mooi.
Why don't groot and mooi get an -e ending here?
Because they come after the noun they describe, connected by the verb is. When adjectives are used like this in Dutch, they stay in their basic form. You only add an -e when the adjective is placed directly in front of the noun, like in de grote woonkamer.
How can I know if a compound noun like woonkamer uses de or het?
Look at the very last part of the word! The final word in a compound always decides the gender. Because kamer is a de word (de kamer), the whole word woonkamer also uses de.
How is the word woonkamer built?
It is a compound noun made of the verb stem woon (from wonen, meaning to live or reside) and the noun kamer (room). Dutch frequently glues words together like this to create new nouns.
Why is groot spelled with two O's here, but only one O if I say de grote kamer?
This is a great refresher for the Dutch spelling rules. In groot, the syllable is closed by the consonant t, so you need two O's to maintain the long vowel sound. When you add an ending in gro-te, the syllable ends in a vowel (it becomes "open"), so a single o automatically makes that same long sound.
Learn De woonkamer is groot en mooi and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free