Breakdown of De geestelijke gezondheid van de puber was belangrijk.
zijn
to be
belangrijk
important
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
de gezondheid
the health
de puber
the adolescent
geestelijk
mental
Questions & Answers about De geestelijke gezondheid van de puber was belangrijk.
Why is geestelijke used here for 'mental' instead of a Dutch word like mentale?
Both geestelijke and mentale are correct and often used interchangeably in modern Dutch. However, geestelijke gezondheid is the traditional, fixed expression for 'mental health'. The word geestelijk relates to the mind or spirit, coming from the noun de geest (the mind/spirit).
Is puber the standard word for 'adolescent', or does it just mean 'teenager'?
De puber refers specifically to a young person going through puberty, roughly ages 12 to 18. It is extremely common in everyday Dutch for 'teenager' or 'adolescent'. You might also see de adolescent (often used for slightly older young adults) or de tiener (anyone aged 10 to 19), but puber strongly emphasizes this specific developmental stage.
Why does geestelijke get an -e ending in this sentence?
It modifies the noun gezondheid. Because gezondheid is a de-word, the adjective placed before it gets the -e ending. This happens whether it is preceded by de, as it is here, or by words like een or geen.
Is there a reliable rule for the gender of abstract nouns like gezondheid?
Yes, there is a very strict rule: the suffix -heid turns adjectives (like gezond) into abstract nouns (like gezondheid), similar to '-ness' in English. Every single Dutch noun ending in -heid is a de-word. As a quick B2 refresher, remember that if you ever need to make them plural, the suffix changes to -heden.
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