Breakdown of Het verre eiland heeft een blauwachtige schaduw.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
ver
far
het eiland
the island
de schaduw
the shadow
blauwachtig
bluish
Questions & Answers about Het verre eiland heeft een blauwachtige schaduw.
How does the suffix -achtig change the meaning of blauw in this sentence?
The suffix -achtig is similar to the English suffix -ish or -like. Adding it to the color blauw (blue) creates blauwachtig, meaning bluish or having a blue tint. It turns a definitive color into an approximation.
Why is there an -e at the end of blauwachtige?
Even though it ends in a suffix, blauwachtig acts as a regular adjective. Because it directly precedes the noun schaduw, which is a de-word (de schaduw), it must take the standard -e adjective ending.
Why does the adjective ver become verre in het verre eiland, and why is the r doubled?
Eiland is a het-word. Because it is preceded by the definite article het, the modifying adjective gets an -e ending. When adding this -e to ver, the consonant r must be doubled to verre to keep the preceding vowel short. If it were spelled with one r, the first e would be pronounced as a long vowel.
Could I just say een blauwe schaduw instead?
You could, but it changes the nuance. Een blauwe schaduw means the shadow is definitively blue. Using the -achtig suffix in een blauwachtige schaduw implies that it merely hints at blue or has a blue tint, which is usually more accurate for describing the visual effect of shadows.
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