Breakdown of De auto's rijden hier met hoge snelheden.
hier
here
de auto
the car
met
with
rijden
to drive
hoog
high / tall
de snelheid
the speed
Questions & Answers about De auto's rijden hier met hoge snelheden.
Why is the plural of snelheid spelled snelheden?
Words ending in the abstract noun suffix -heid have an irregular plural. Instead of just adding a standard plural ending, the entire suffix changes to -heden. So, snelheid (speed) becomes snelheden (speeds).
Why does the adjective hoog (high) change to hoge, dropping an 'o'?
Because snelheden is a plural noun, the adjective in front of it gets an -e ending. When hoog gets an -e, it would be spelled 'hooge'. However, Dutch spelling rules drop the extra vowel in an open syllable (a syllable ending in a vowel), so it is spelled hoge but keeps the long 'o' sound.
Why is met used here instead of a literal translation for 'at'?
Prepositions rarely match up perfectly between languages. While in English you drive 'at' a certain speed, in Dutch you drive 'with' a certain speed (met een snelheid).
Why does auto's have an apostrophe before the plural 's'?
Nouns ending in a single open vowel (like a, i, o, u, y) get an apostrophe plus 's' to form the plural. This apostrophe acts as a spacer to ensure the 'o' stays long. Without it, the spelling autos would look like a closed syllable and be mispronounced with a short 'o' sound.
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