Question 1

Why does oude have an -e at the end after zij het?

Accepted Answer

Even though it is introduced by zij het (albeit), oude is still an adjective modifying the noun machine, just like robuuste. Because it follows the demonstrative pronoun deze and modifies a de-word, it takes the standard -e ending. You can think of it as describing "deze robuuste (and) oude machine."

Question 2

What literally is zij het? It looks like "she it" or "they it".

Accepted Answer

It is actually an old subjunctive form of the verb zijn (to be). Literally, it translates to "be it" (similar to the English expression "be that as it may"). In modern Dutch, zij het is a fixed, fossilized phrase meaning "albeit" or "even if it is." You never change or conjugate it.

Question 3

Does zij het always have to be sandwiched between adjectives like this?

Accepted Answer

No, though it is a very natural and elegant way to use it! You can also place it after the noun as a short noun phrase, such as Deze robuuste machine, zij het een oud model, moet.... If you want to follow it with a full clause containing a subject and a verb, you must add dat to form zij het dat (albeit that / even though).

Question 4

Why is it veel sneller and not vele snellere?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, sneller (faster) acts as an adverb describing how the machine must werken (work), so it does not take an adjective -e ending. The word veel (much) modifies that adverb, so it also remains uninflected. You would only add the -e if the phrase directly described a noun, like een veel snellere machine.

Deze robuuste, zij het oude, machine moet veel sneller werken.

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