Breakdown of Deze analoge platenspeler was duur, maar hij klinkt des te beter.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
maar
but
duur
expensive
deze
this / these
beter
better
klinken
to sound
des te
the (proportion)
analoog
analog
de platenspeler
the record player
Questions & Answers about Deze analoge platenspeler was duur, maar hij klinkt des te beter.
How does des te work here, and why isn't it paired with hoe?
The phrase des te is used with a comparative adjective (here, beter) to mean "all the" or "that much". While you often see it in the double structure hoe..., des te... (the..., the...), it can be used independently. Here it emphasizes that the first fact (being expensive) makes the result (sounding better) even more pronounced.
Why is hij used to refer to a record player instead of het?
Because platenspeler is a de word. In Dutch, you must refer back to de words using hij (or sometimes zij for feminine words), but never het, which is strictly for het words. Since most inanimate de words are treated as masculine, hij is the correct pronoun here for "it".
Why does analoge get an -e at the end, while duur does not?
The word analoge comes right before the noun platenspeler (a de word), so it requires the extra -e ending. However, duur comes after the verb was (as a predicative adjective) describing the noun from a distance, so it stays in its basic dictionary form.
Why is the word order normal (hij klinkt) after maar? Should it be inverted?
No inversion is needed because maar is a coordinating conjunction (just like en or want). It links two main clauses together without affecting the word order of the second clause. Therefore, hij klinkt keeps the standard subject-verb order.
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