Breakdown of Een succesvolle ondernemer investeert zijn eigen geld.
een
a/an
het geld
the money
zijn
his
eigen
own
investeren
to invest
succesvol
successful
de ondernemer
the entrepreneur
Questions & Answers about Een succesvolle ondernemer investeert zijn eigen geld.
Why doesn't eigen get an -e ending here, since it's acting as an adjective?
The word eigen (own) is an exception to the normal adjective rules. It never takes an -e ending, regardless of whether the noun is a de-word or a het-word, or what comes before it. That is why it is zijn eigen geld and never "zijn eigene geld".
Why does succesvolle get an -e ending after een?
You only drop the -e ending on an adjective after een when describing a het-word (like een klein huis). Because ondernemer is a de-word (de ondernemer), the adjective keeps the standard -e ending, making it een succesvolle ondernemer.
Could I change the word order to zijn geld eigen instead of zijn eigen geld?
No, eigen works exactly like a regular adjective when it comes to placement in the sentence. It must sit directly between the possessive pronoun and the noun it describes. The fixed structure for emphatic possession is always: possessive pronoun + eigen + noun.
If the entrepreneur were a woman, would the noun ondernemer have to change?
Not necessarily. You would definitely change the pronoun to haar (haar eigen geld), but the noun ondernemer is widely used as a gender-neutral term in modern Dutch. While the specific female form onderneemster exists, you do not have to use it.
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