Breakdown of Onze lerares was heel beroemd.
zijn
to be
heel
very
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
beroemd
famous
de lerares
the female teacher
Questions & Answers about Onze lerares was heel beroemd.
How is the feminine word lerares formed from the standard word for teacher?
The base word is leraar (teacher). To make it feminine, we add the suffix -es. This is a very common way to derive female professions in Dutch, just like zangeres (female singer). Notice that one a is dropped from the base word to become lerares in order to keep the long 'a' sound without writing double vowels in an open syllable.
How do I know whether to use onze or ons with lerares?
You use onze because lerares is a de-word (de lerares). A helpful rule to remember is that all professions and personal nouns ending in the feminine suffix -es are always de-words. We only use ons with het-words.
If we had multiple female teachers, what would the plural of lerares be?
Words ending in the suffix -es take -sen in the plural, so it becomes leraressen. Notice that the s doubles to ensure the preceding e continues to sound short.
Could I use erg instead of heel to say the teacher was very famous?
Yes, you can say erg beroemd as well. Both heel and erg mean very when placed before an adjective, and they are completely interchangeable in this sentence.
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