Breakdown of Deze ambachtelijke speciaalzaak verkoopt tamelijk dure producten.
verkopen
to sell
duur
expensive
deze
this / these
het product
the product
tamelijk
quite / fairly
de speciaalzaak
the specialty shop
ambachtelijk
artisanal
Questions & Answers about Deze ambachtelijke speciaalzaak verkoopt tamelijk dure producten.
Why does ambachtelijk get an -e ending here?
Because speciaalzaak (specialty shop) is a de word, and it is preceded by the demonstrative pronoun deze. In this structure, the adjective takes the standard -e ending. Ambachtelijk is an excellent B2 adjective meaning "artisanal" or "craft-based".
How do we know the gender of a compound word like speciaalzaak?
The gender of any Dutch compound noun is always determined by its final part. Since the base word zaak (shop/business) is a de word, the compound speciaalzaak is also a de word. This is why it takes deze instead of dit.
Could I use nogal instead of tamelijk in this sentence?
Yes, nogal and tamelijk both mean "rather" or "fairly" and are highly interchangeable. However, tamelijk sounds slightly more formal, written, or objective, which fits the context of describing an artisanal shop. Nogal is often a bit more conversational.
Why is dure spelled with only one u when the base word for expensive is duur?
This is a classic case of the Dutch open syllable rule, which is always good to review. When we add the -e ending to match the plural noun producten, the word splits into syllables as du-re. Since the first syllable ends in a vowel, the vowel sound is automatically long, so we drop the extra u to avoid redundant spelling.
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