Breakdown of Een hogere prijs is erg onwaarschijnlijk.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
erg
very / really
hoog
high / tall
Questions & Answers about Een hogere prijs is erg onwaarschijnlijk.
Since this lesson is about litotes, how would using 'niet' instead of 'erg' change the meaning?
Changing the sentence to Een hogere prijs is niet onwaarschijnlijk creates a litotes (a deliberate understatement). By negating the negative prefix, you aren't just saying it is "not unlikely" in a neutral way; you are using rhetorical understatement to strongly affirm that a higher price is actually quite likely.
Why does the adjective get an '-e' ending here (hogere prijs)?
Prijs is a de-word (de prijs). Adjectives placed directly in front of de-words always get an -e ending, even when preceded by the indefinite article een (a/an). You only drop the -e ending when you have a het-word preceded by een.
Could I use heel instead of erg to mean 'very' in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. In Dutch, heel and erg are practically interchangeable when used as adverbs to mean "very." Saying heel onwaarschijnlijk sounds just as natural as erg onwaarschijnlijk.
Is the suffix -lijk in onwaarschijnlijk pronounced with a long 'ij' sound?
No, it isn't. Despite being spelled with an ij, the common adjective suffix -lijk is always pronounced like "luk" (with a short, unstressed "uh" sound, known as a schwa).