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Questions & Answers about Het water is koud.
What does het mean in the sentence Het water is koud?
Het is the neuter definite article in Dutch, equivalent to the in English. Since water is a neuter noun, it takes het instead of de—the article used for common gender nouns.
Why is the noun water preceded by het rather than de?
In Dutch, nouns are divided into two genders: common and neuter. Water is classified as neuter, so it is paired with het. This is similar to how some languages have different articles to match the noun's gender.
Why is the adjective koud not changed to koude in this sentence?
The adjective koud follows the linking verb is and functions as a predicate adjective. In Dutch, predicate adjectives remain uninflected. If you were to use the adjective before the noun (attributively), you would say het koude water, adding an ending. But when used after is, no ending is needed.
What function does the verb is serve in this sentence?