Breakdown of Zonnebloemen zijn mooi, en hij wilde er vier grote plukken.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
en
and
groot
big
vier
four
willen
to want
mooi
beautiful
er
of them (with a number or quantity)
plukken
to pick
de zonnebloem
the sunflower
Questions & Answers about Zonnebloemen zijn mooi, en hij wilde er vier grote plukken.
What is the word er doing in this sentence?
This is the quantitative er, which acts like the English phrase "of them". When you state a quantity of something (vier) but leave out the noun because it was already mentioned (zonnebloemen), Dutch strictly requires you to use er.
Why does grote have an -e added to it, even though the noun isn't right next to it?
In Dutch, when you drop the noun and just use an adjective with a number to mean "four large ones", the adjective behaves as if the noun is still there. Because it is describing a plural noun, the adjective gets the standard -e ending, making it grote.
If grote gets an -e, why doesn't mooi get one in the first half of the sentence?
The word mooi is a predicative adjective here, meaning it comes after the verb zijn (are) to describe the subject. Adjectives only get the -e ending when they are attributive (placed right before the noun) or when they stand in for the noun, like grote does.
Why is the verb plukken placed at the very end of the sentence?
The second clause is a main clause introduced by the conjunction en (and). The conjugated verb wilde (wanted) takes the normal second position in this new clause, which pushes the main action verb plukken (to pick) to the very end as an infinitive.
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