Breakdown of Mijn broer heeft een nieuwe auto. Die is heel snel.
zijn
to be
de auto
the car
hebben
to have
de broer
the brother
snel
fast
heel
very
mijn
my
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
nieuw
new
Questions & Answers about Mijn broer heeft een nieuwe auto. Die is heel snel.
Why is it nieuwe auto with an -e at the end, even though it uses een?
Dutch adjectives usually get an -e added to them. The only time you drop this -e is when you have a singular het word coming after een (or no article). Because auto is a de word (de auto), the adjective gets the standard -e ending to become nieuwe.
The English translation says 'It is very fast', so why does the Dutch sentence use Die instead of Het?
In English, we use 'it' for all objects. But in Dutch, you can only use het to refer back to a het word. Since auto is a de word, you cannot use het. You have to use hij (he) or die (that one) to say 'it'.
Could I just say Hij is heel snel instead of Die is heel snel?
Yes, you can! Because auto is a de word, using hij is grammatically correct. However, Dutch speakers very often use the pointing word die (meaning 'that' or 'that one') to refer back to objects in everyday speech. It often sounds more natural than treating an object like a person.
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