Word
De oceaan is daar erg diep.
Meaning
The ocean is very deep there.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about De oceaan is daar erg diep.
Since this lesson covers geographical proper nouns, how would this sentence change if we specifically named the Atlantic Ocean?
Specific bodies of water are geographical proper nouns in Dutch. They always take the definite article de and both words are capitalized. To say The Atlantic Ocean is very deep there, you would write De Atlantische Oceaan is daar erg diep.
Why doesn't the adjective diep get an -e ending here, considering oceaan is a de word?
Adjectives only get the -e ending when they stand directly in front of the noun they modify (as in de diepe oceaan). Here, diep comes after the verb is, meaning it is used predicatively, so it remains uninflected.
What happens to the spelling of oceaan and the verb if we make this sentence plural?
To say The oceans are, you add -en to the noun. However, Dutch spelling rules dictate that you drop one a in open syllables to maintain the long vowel sound, making it oceanen. The plural verb then agrees with it: De oceanen zijn daar erg diep.
Is there any difference between using erg diep and heel diep in this context?