De smoes verandert het draaiboek.

Because Dutch nouns belong to two article groups:

• de-words
• het-words

smoes is a de-word, so you say de smoes.
draaiboek is a het-word, so you say het draaiboek.

This is something you usually have to learn with each noun. There is not always a simple rule you can rely on.

A useful habit is to memorize nouns together with their article:

• de smoes
• het draaiboek

The verb is veranderen = to change.

In the present tense, Dutch often works like this:

• ik verander = I change
• jij verandert = you change
• hij/zij/het verandert = he/she/it changes

Here, the subject is de smoes, which is a singular noun, so the verb takes the third-person singular form: verandert.

So:

• De smoes verandert ... = The excuse changes ...

In a normal Dutch main clause, the subject often comes before the verb, and the object comes after it.

So in:

• De smoes verandert het draaiboek

the most natural reading is:

• de smoes = subject
• verandert = verb
• het draaiboek = direct object

English speakers can think of it as the same basic pattern as:

• The excuse changes the script

Also, the verb form verandert agrees with a singular subject, and de smoes fits that role naturally.

Yes. Veranderen can be used both:

• intransitively: something changes / becomes different
• transitively: something changes something else

Examples:

• Het weer verandert. = The weather changes.
• De smoes verandert het draaiboek. = The excuse changes the plan/script.

So in your sentence, veranderen is being used transitively, because it has a direct object: het draaiboek.

Smoes usually means something like:

• excuse
• pretext
• made-up reason

It often has a slightly negative or skeptical feeling, like the speaker does not fully believe it.

So smoes is often closer to:

• a lame excuse
• an excuse someone uses to get out of something
• a pretext

It is a normal everyday word, not especially formal.

Literally, draaiboek can mean something like a script, running order, or plan of action.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• a script for a production
• a detailed event schedule
• a step-by-step operational plan
• a playbook

So even if the general meaning has already been given to you, it is useful to know that draaiboek often suggests a structured plan rather than just any random document.

Smoes is pronounced roughly like smoos in English, with a long oo sound.

A simple approximation:

• smoes ≈ smoos

The oe spelling in Dutch usually sounds like the vowel in food.

A rough English approximation is:

• DRY-book

A bit more carefully:

• draai sounds somewhat like dry
• boek sounds like book, but with the Dutch oe sound, so more like boo(k) with a shorter vowel than English boo

So draaiboek is approximately:

• DRY-book, but not exactly English book

Yes. Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second rule, which means the finite verb is usually in the second position.

So besides:

• De smoes verandert het draaiboek.

you could also have, for example:

• Vandaag verandert de smoes het draaiboek.
• Het draaiboek verandert de smoes.

But notice: changing the order can also change the meaning.

In your original sentence:

• de smoes is doing the changing

If you say:

• Het draaiboek verandert de smoes

then the script/plan becomes the thing doing the changing, which is a different meaning.

So yes, Dutch word order is flexible, but you must keep track of who is doing what.

Because your sentence is in the simple present tense.

• De smoes verandert het draaiboek. = The excuse changes / is changing the script.

If you want a perfect tense, Dutch uses an auxiliary verb such as hebben or zijn plus a past participle:

• De smoes heeft het draaiboek veranderd. = The excuse has changed the script.

Also note that the past participle is veranderd, not verandert.

So:

• verandert = present tense
• veranderd = past participle

Yes: it is best to learn each noun together with its article and, if possible, its plural.

For example:

• de smoes → plural: de smoezen
• het draaiboek → plural: de draaiboeken

This helps with several things at once:

• correct article use
• adjective endings later on
• pronoun reference
• plural formation

So instead of memorizing just smoes and draaiboek, memorize:

• de smoes
• het draaiboek