Breakdown of De lengte van dit pakket is vrij groot.
zijn
to be
groot
big
dit
this (neuter)
het pakket
the package
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
vrij
quite / fairly (degree adverb)
de lengte
the length
Questions & Answers about De lengte van dit pakket is vrij groot.
How do we get the word lengte from the adjective lang?
To create nouns for physical dimensions, Dutch adds the suffix -te to the adjective. For lang (long), there is an irregular vowel change from a to e, resulting in lengte.
Why do we say the length is groot (large) rather than saying it is long?
In Dutch, when you refer to a physical dimension as a noun (like lengte, breedte, or hoogte), you describe it using groot (large) or klein (small). Saying that a length is lang would sound unnatural to a native speaker.
I learned that vrij means 'free'. Why is it used here?
While vrij does mean 'free', when placed directly before an adjective like groot, it acts as an adverb meaning 'quite', 'fairly', or 'rather'. This is an extremely common way to soften a description in Dutch.
Why is it dit pakket and not deze pakket?
Pakket is a neuter noun (it is het pakket). When pointing out specific neuter nouns, you must use the demonstrative pronouns dit (this) or dat (that). You only use deze or die with de-words.
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