Questions & Answers about Zij was een briljante schrijfster.
How is the feminine noun schrijfster formed?
The masculine word for a writer is schrijver. To make it feminine, the -er suffix is replaced by the feminine suffix -ster. Notice the spelling change: the voiced v from schrijver changes to an unvoiced f because it is placed right before the voiceless s in the suffix, giving us schrijfster.
Why does briljante get an -e ending when it comes after the word een?
In Dutch, adjectives get an -e ending when they come before a de-word. Because schrijfster (like almost all words for people and professions) is a de-word, the adjective becomes briljante. The rule about dropping the -e after een only applies to het-words (such as een groot huis).
Why does the sentence use zij instead of ze?
Zij is the stressed form of the pronoun. You use it here to emphasize that she (perhaps in contrast to someone else) was a brilliant writer. If you just wanted to state a general fact without emphasizing the person, you could safely use the unstressed ze.
Can I use schrijver for a woman, or do I always have to use schrijfster?