Breakdown of Er is een basisschool in deze tamelijk nieuwe buurt.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
in
in
deze
this / these
nieuw
new
er
there (existential)
de buurt
the neighborhood
tamelijk
quite / fairly
de basisschool
the primary school
Questions & Answers about Er is een basisschool in deze tamelijk nieuwe buurt.
Why doesn't tamelijk get an -e ending like nieuwe?
Tamelijk is an adverb meaning "fairly" or "quite", and it modifies the adjective nieuwe. In Dutch, adverbs never get an -e ending. Only the adjective modifying the noun (buurt) gets the ending.
Could I use vrij or nogal instead of tamelijk here?
Yes, they are highly interchangeable here. Vrij, tamelijk, and nogal all translate to "fairly", "quite", or "rather". Vrij and tamelijk are usually neutral or positive, while nogal can sometimes imply a stronger or more surprising degree, but in this context, nogal nieuwe buurt works just fine.
Why is it nieuwe with an -e instead of just nieuw?
Buurt is a de-word (de buurt). Because it is pointed out with deze (meaning "this"), the adjective in front of it must get an -e ending. The adverb tamelijk sits in the middle but doesn't interrupt this grammar rule.
Why use deze instead of dit for "this"?
We use deze because buurt (neighborhood) is a de-word. If we were talking about a het-word, like het centrum (the center), we would use dit instead, making it dit tamelijk nieuwe centrum.
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