Breakdown of Een gigantische ufo had de koeien gestolen.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
stelen
to steal
de koe
the cow
Questions & Answers about Een gigantische ufo had de koeien gestolen.
Why is it gigantische with an -e here?
Here, gigantische is a normal adjective directly modifying the noun ufo, so it gets the standard -e ending. If it were acting as an adverb of degree modifying another adjective, like in een gigantisch snelle ufo (a gigantically fast UFO), it would drop the -e because those adverbs do not change their form.
Since ufo is an acronym, why isn't it written in all capital letters?
In Dutch, acronyms that have become common everyday nouns and are pronounced as a single word rather than letter-by-letter are written in lowercase. Other common examples include pin and radar.
How do we know whether a loanword like ufo is a de-word or a het-word?
As a general rule of thumb, most English loanwords and acronyms are de-words in Dutch. Because ufo is a de-word, the adjective modifying it gets an -e ending even when it comes after the indefinite article een.
Could I put gestolen right after had in this sentence?