Breakdown of De Alpen zijn een prachtig gebergte.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
prachtig
gorgeous
de Alpen
the Alps
het gebergte
the mountain range
Questions & Answers about De Alpen zijn een prachtig gebergte.
Why does De Alpen take the plural verb zijn if it refers to one mountain range?
In Dutch, mountain ranges are treated as grammatically plural if the name itself is plural. Just like in English, De Alpen takes the plural verb zijn. This rule also applies to other plural geographical names, such as de Verenigde Staten (the United States).
Are articles always required for geographical proper nouns like De Alpen?
Plural geographical names, such as mountain ranges, rivers, or island groups, always take the definite article de. Most singular countries and cities do not use an article (like Nederland or Berlijn), but plural geographical names always do.
Why is the adjective prachtig written without an -e at the end?
Gebergte is a neuter noun (het gebergte). As a reminder from earlier lessons, when a neuter singular noun is preceded by the indefinite article een, the adjective in front of it drops the standard -e ending.
How is the word gebergte formed?
It uses the structure ge- plus a noun plus -te, which is used in Dutch to create collective nouns. By wrapping this around the root word berg (mountain), it creates a word that means a collection of mountains, which we translate as a mountain range.
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