De auto is kleurrijk.

to be

Breakdown of De auto is kleurrijk.

• de auto: the car
• kleurrijk: colorful

Questions & Answers about De auto is kleurrijk.

Why is it de auto and not het auto?

Because auto is a de-word in Dutch. In the singular, Dutch nouns take either de or het, and auto belongs to the de group.

• de auto = the car
• de auto's = the cars

A useful extra detail:

• the basic noun is de auto
• the diminutive is het autootje = the little car

So the article changes with the form of the noun, not with the meaning car itself.

Why is it kleurrijk and not kleurrijke?

Because kleurrijk comes after the verb is.

In Dutch, adjectives used after a linking verb such as zijn usually stay in their basic form:

• De auto is kleurrijk.
• De auto is mooi.
• De auto is groot.

But when the adjective comes before the noun, it usually takes -e:

• de kleurrijke auto
• een kleurrijke auto

So:

• De auto is kleurrijk. = adjective after is → no -e
• de kleurrijke auto = adjective before auto → -e

Is the word order the same as in English here?