Breakdown of Die ingewikkelde techniek is makkelijk te leren.
zijn
to be
leren
to learn
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
makkelijk
easy
te
to (infinitive marker)
ingewikkeld
complicated
de techniek
the technique
Questions & Answers about Die ingewikkelde techniek is makkelijk te leren.
Why do we use is ... te leren here instead of a passive with worden or using kunnen?
The structure zijn + te + infinitive expresses that something can be done or has the potential to be done. Here, is makkelijk te leren essentially means "is easily learnable" or "can be easily learned." It is often more natural and concise in Dutch than using a full passive sentence like kan makkelijk geleerd worden.
Why does ingewikkeld get an -e at the end (ingewikkelde)?
The word techniek is a de-word. Whenever an adjective comes before a de-word that is pointed out by de, die, or deze, it gets an -e ending. Even though ingewikkeld (complicated) looks like a past participle verb, it acts as a normal adjective here and follows the exact same spelling rules.
Could I use dat instead of die to say "that complicated technique"?
No, because techniek is a de-word. For de-words, you must use die (that) and deze (this). The words dat (that) and dit (this) are only used for het-words.
Does the ending of makkelijk sound different from how it is spelled?
Yes! The common adjective suffix -lijk is always pronounced as "-luk" (with a soft "uh" sound, known as a schwa). Even though it is spelled with an ij, you do not pronounce it with the typical Dutch "ij" vowel sound.
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