Die maaltijd is heel groot en heel lekker!

to be

Breakdown of Die maaltijd is heel groot en heel lekker!

• groot: big
• heel: very
• en: and
• die: that
• lekker: tasty
• de maaltijd: the meal

Questions & Answers about Die maaltijd is heel groot en heel lekker!

Why does the sentence use die instead of deze?

In Dutch, die is used to refer to something that’s either further away from the speaker or was mentioned previously. Deze is more immediate or near the speaker. In many contexts, they can be somewhat interchangeable, but using die here sounds natural if the meal was previously mentioned or is not physically close to the speaker.

What does heel mean in this sentence, and can I use something else like erg or zeer?

Heel in Dutch means "very" or "really" in this context, intensifying the adjectives groot and lekker. Yes, you can also say erg groot or zeer groot, and it has a similar meaning. However, heel is extremely common and sounds more casual and conversational.

Can groot and lekker be used in other contexts, or are they specific to meals?

Absolutely! Groot simply means "big" or "large" and can describe anything with a large size (like a groot huis = a big house). Lekker literally means "tasty" but it can also be used to describe pleasant experiences (like lekker slapen = sleeping well).

Why is the adjective form not pluralized or changed to agree with the noun?

In Dutch, attributive adjectives (those used before a noun, like grote maaltijd) often get an -e ending (such as grote). But in this sentence, groot comes after the verb is (a predicative adjective), so no extra -e is needed. The same goes for lekker used this way.

Is there a reason for repeating heel before each adjective instead of saying heel groot en lekker?

Repeating heel emphasizes each adjective separately, highlighting that the meal is both very large and very tasty. You can say heel groot en lekker, but you lose the slight emphasis on each adjective. The repetition is a stylistic choice native Dutch speakers often make in casual speech.