De interesse is belangrijk in dit verhaal.

The interest is important in this story.

Breakdown of De interesse is belangrijk in dit verhaal.

• zijn: to be
• in: in
• belangrijk: important
• het verhaal: the story
• dit: this
• de interesse: the interest

Questions & Answers about De interesse is belangrijk in dit verhaal.

Why does the sentence use de instead of het before interesse?

In Dutch, the word interesse is generally treated as a feminine or masculine noun, which means it takes the article de. Some nouns might be exceptions, but interesse is standardly used with de.

Why do we say in dit verhaal and not in deze verhaal?

The word verhaal is a het-word in Dutch. Therefore, the correct demonstrative pronoun is dit (this) rather than deze. Deze is used for de-words, while dit is used for het-words.

What is the function of is in this sentence?

In this context, is is simply the present tense form of zijn (to be). It connects the subject (De interesse) to the adjective (belangrijk) by stating that the subject 'is' in the state of being 'important'.

Could I use synonyms for belangrijk here?

Yes, you can. Some common alternatives include van belang or essentieel, depending on the context. However, belangrijk is the most direct and common way to say important.

Is there a difference between saying De interesse is belangrijk in dit verhaal and De interesse in dit verhaal is belangrijk?

Both sentences are grammatically correct. The first one emphasizes the fact that 'interest is important in this story,' while the second puts a bit more focus on the interest in this story before stating it is important. The difference in emphasis is subtle, and both forms are acceptable.