Word
Zij was een fantastische danseres.
Meaning
She was a fantastic dancer.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
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?