Breakdown of De ontwerper van dit huis was heel beroemd.
zijn
to be
het huis
the house
heel
very
dit
this (neuter)
Questions & Answers about De ontwerper van dit huis was heel beroemd.
How do we know to use the -er suffix for ontwerper instead of -aar or -der?
The noun comes from the verb ontwerpen (to design). To form a word for the person doing the action (the agent), you take the verb stem (ontwerp) and add a suffix. Because the stem ends in -p, we use the standard -er suffix to make ontwerper. You would only use -der if the stem ended in -r (like huurder from huren), and -aar is mostly used for stems ending in a vowel followed by -l, -r, -n, or -m.
Is there a specific suffix to make ontwerper feminine?
Yes! For stems ending in most consonants (like the -p in ontwerp), you can add -ster to create the feminine form: ontwerpster (female designer). Keep in mind that in modern Dutch, the standard form ontwerper is frequently used as a gender-neutral term for anyone regardless of gender.
Could I use the word bekend instead of beroemd in this sentence?