Breakdown of De gecomprimeerde video is veel kleiner.
zijn
to be
klein
small
veel
much / many / a lot of
de video
the video
comprimeren
to compress
Questions & Answers about De gecomprimeerde video is veel kleiner.
Why is it gecomprimeerde with a double ee, when the infinitive comprimeren has a single e?
In the infinitive comprimeren, the first e in the ending is in an open syllable (me-ren), giving it a long sound. To make the past participle (gecomprimeerd), we double the e to keep that long sound in a closed syllable. When we add the adjective ending -e, the word divides as ge-com-pri-meer-de. The syllable still ends in a consonant (r), so the double ee must stay to keep the vowel long.
Why does the participle get an -e ending in this sentence?
The past participle gecomprimeerd is being used attributively here, meaning it acts as an adjective in front of the noun video. Because it follows the definite article de, it follows normal adjective rules and gets the -e ending.
Why is the past participle spelled with a d instead of a t?
We apply the 't kofschip rule to the base verb comprimeren. The stem ends in r, which is not in 't kofschip. Therefore, the past participle gets a -d (gecomprimeerd). When the -e ending is added, that d is kept and clearly pronounced.
Could I use heel or erg instead of veel in this sentence?
No, because kleiner is a comparative adjective (smaller). Just like in English, you must use veel (much) to modify a comparative. You would use heel or erg (very) only with the base adjective, like in heel klein (very small).
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