Breakdown of Die appel is rot geworden, toch?
zijn
to be
de appel
the apple
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
worden
to become
toch
still, anyway (particle) / right? (question tag)
rot
rotten
Questions & Answers about Die appel is rot geworden, toch?
Why does the sentence use is instead of heeft for "has become"?
In Dutch, the verb worden (to become) always takes zijn (to be) as its auxiliary verb in the perfect tense, never hebben. Even though we say "has become" in English, in Dutch you literally say "is become" (is geworden).
Why is it rot instead of rotte?
Adjectives don't get an -e ending when they are used independently after a verb like zijn or worden (this is called a predicative adjective). If the adjective came right before the noun, it would get the -e ending: de rotte appel (the rotten apple).
What is the purpose of toch at the end of this sentence?
When placed at the end of a sentence with a question mark, toch acts like a tag question. It translates to "right?" or "isn't it?". The speaker believes the apple is rotten and is just asking for confirmation from the listener.
Could I say dat appel instead of die appel?
No, because appel is a de-word (de appel). Because of this, you must use die for "that". You only use dat for het-words (like dat boek or dat huis).
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