Breakdown of Ik vind dat gebouw nogal ouderwets.
ik
I
dat
that (het-words)
het gebouw
the building
vinden
to think / consider (hold an opinion)
Questions & Answers about Ik vind dat gebouw nogal ouderwets.
Why use nogal instead of vrij in this sentence?
Nogal means 'quite' or 'rather'. While vrij just means 'fairly' in a neutral way, nogal often adds a slightly critical or subjective tone. This fits perfectly here since the speaker is judging the building as ouderwets (old-fashioned).
Could I use denk instead of vind to say 'I think that building is quite old-fashioned'?
No, you cannot use denken here. When expressing a subjective opinion, taste, or judgment about something you experience, you must use vinden (to find). Denken is only used for thoughts, facts, or assumptions (like 'Ik denk dat het gaat regenen').
Why is it dat gebouw instead of die gebouw?
Gebouw is a neuter word (het gebouw). To say 'that' with a het word, you always use dat. You only use die for de words (like die auto) or for plurals.
How is the adjective ouderwets formed?
It comes from ouder (older) and an old form of the word wet (law or custom), plus an -s to make it an adjective. It literally means 'according to the older customs', which translates perfectly to 'old-fashioned'.