Breakdown of De tijger rent erg hard! Wat een dier!
het dier
animal
erg
very / really
hard
loud / fast (forceful) / hard (with effort)
rennen
to run
Questions & Answers about De tijger rent erg hard! Wat een dier!
Why do we use wat een in this sentence instead of just wat?
We use wat een because dier (animal) is a singular, countable noun. If we were making an exclamation about a plural noun, an uncountable noun, or just an adjective (like saying "How fast!"), we would drop the een and just use wat.
I thought hard meant "hard" or "loud". Why does it translate to "fast" here?
While hard can mean "hard" (solid) or "loud" in Dutch, it is also the most natural word to use for "fast" when talking about physical speed, especially running (hard rennen) or driving. You could also use snel, but hard is extremely common in this context.
Could I use heel instead of erg to say "very fast"?
Yes, absolutely! erg and heel both mean "very" and are almost always interchangeable. heel hard and erg hard mean exactly the same thing.