Breakdown of Zij was een fantastische danseres.
zijn
to be
zij
she
een
a/an
fantastisch
fantastic
de danseres
the female dancer
Questions & Answers about Zij was een fantastische danseres.
How does the word danseres get its feminine form?
It adds the suffix -es to the male or generic noun danser (dancer). Adding -es is one of the most common ways to create feminine forms of professions in Dutch, similar to how English uses the -ess ending in words like actress.
Are feminine personal nouns like danseres always de-words?
Yes! Whenever you derive a feminine personal noun using suffixes like -es, -in, or -ster, the new word is automatically a de-word. That is why the definite article for this word is de danseres.
Why does fantastische get an -e at the end even though it follows the indefinite article een?
Adjectives keep the -e ending after een as long as the noun they describe is a de-word. Because danseres is a feminine noun, it is a de-word. You only drop the adjective's -e after een if the noun is a het-word, such as in een fantastisch boek.
Could I use Ze instead of Zij at the start of this sentence?
Absolutely. Zij is the stressed pronoun form, which puts a little extra emphasis on She (perhaps to contrast her with another performer). If you do not need that specific emphasis, using Ze is actually more common and sounds more relaxed in everyday speech.
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