Breakdown of Al de jassen zijn voor het goede doel.
zijn
to be
de jas
the coat
goed
good
voor
for (on behalf of)
Questions & Answers about Al de jassen zijn voor het goede doel.
Why is it al de jassen here and not just alle jassen?
We use al de because we are talking about specific, definite coats (like "all of the coats" in a specific pile). If we were making a general statement about all coats everywhere, we would use alle jassen.
Literally, het goede doel means "the good goal". Is this just how you say "charity" in Dutch?
Yes! While it translates literally to "the good cause" or "the good goal", het goede doel is the standard, everyday phrase for "charity".
Why does goede get an -e at the end? Isn't doel a het-word?
It is a het-word! As a refresher: adjectives before a het-word only lose the -e ending when the noun is indefinite (like after een). Because we are using the definite article het here, the adjective gets the standard -e ending.
Could I use allemaal instead of al de to mean "all the coats"?
Not right before the noun. Allemaal is used as an adverb meaning "all of them" and usually comes later in the sentence. To use it here, you would say: De jassen zijn allemaal voor het goede doel. (The coats are all for the charity).