Breakdown of Zie je die auto? Die is heel duur.
zijn
to be
de auto
the car
zien
to see
duur
expensive
heel
very
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
Questions & Answers about Zie je die auto? Die is heel duur.
Why does the second sentence use Die instead of Het or Hij for 'It'?
In Dutch, when referring back to a de-word (like de auto), you use hij (he) or die (that one). Because the first sentence points out a specific car, starting the next sentence with Die is the most natural way to say 'It is' here. You cannot use het, because het is only used to refer back to het-words.
Is auto a de-word or a het-word? How can you tell from this sentence?
Auto is a de-word. You can tell because the sentence uses die auto (that car). If it were a het-word, the word for 'that' would be dat (for example, dat boek).
Doesn't heel mean 'whole'? Why is it translated as 'very' here?
Yes, heel can mean 'whole' (as in de hele dag - the whole day). However, when you put it directly in front of an adjective like duur (expensive), it acts as an adverb meaning 'very'. So heel duur simply means 'very expensive'.
Why is the first sentence Zie je and not Je ziet?
Because it is a question, the verb (zie) and the subject (je) swap places. Also, remember that when je or jij comes directly after the verb, the verb drops its -t ending. That is why it is zie je and not ziet je.
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