Breakdown of De speciaalzaak verkoopt sterke drank.
de speciaalzaak
the specialty shop
de drank
the drink / the liquor
Questions & Answers about De speciaalzaak verkoopt sterke drank.
How does the meaning change if I change drank to the diminutive drankjes?
The word drank here is an uncountable mass noun meaning liquor or alcohol in general. If you use the diminutive drankjes, it transforms the mass noun into countable portions, meaning individual glasses or servings of a drink. A shop sells liquor as a general category (drank), whereas a bartender serves individual drinks (drankjes).
Why does sterk get an -e ending here (sterke) even though there is no article like de or een before it?
Because drank is a de word. Adjectives placed before a de word always get an -e ending, regardless of whether there is a definite article, an indefinite article, or no article at all. Dropping articles is very common with uncountable mass nouns like drank.
Speciaalzaak is a compound word. How do I know whether it takes de or het?
For compound nouns in Dutch, the very last part of the word always determines the gender. Since the base word is de zaak (the business or shop), the entire compound speciaalzaak becomes a de word.
Can sterke drank also refer to a strongly brewed non-alcoholic drink, like a really strong tea?
No, sterke drank is a fixed expression in Dutch that specifically refers to hard liquor or spirits. If you want to talk about a strong non-alcoholic drink, you have to name the specific beverage, such as sterke koffie or sterke thee.
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