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Questions & Answers about De prijs van de auto is hoog.
What does the word De mean in this sentence?
De is the definite article in Dutch, equivalent to “the” in English. It is used here with prijs (price) to indicate that it is a specific, known price.
What does van mean, and why is it used here?
Van means “of” in this context. It connects two nouns—prijs (price) and auto (car)—to express a possessive relationship, meaning the price belongs to or is associated with the car.
How is the sentence structure of De prijs van de auto is hoog similar to English?
The sentence follows a similar structure in both languages: Subject + Verb + Predicate. In Dutch, "De prijs van de auto" is the subject, "is" is the linking verb, and "hoog" is the predicate adjective. This mirrors the English sentence “The price of the car is high.”
Why is the adjective hoog not inflected (e.g., not written as hoge)?
In Dutch, adjectives used as predicative adjectives (those that follow a linking verb like is) do not take an inflection. That’s why hoog remains unchanged in this sentence. When adjectives appear attributively (before a noun), they might receive an ending according to different grammatical rules.
How is possession expressed in Dutch in this sentence, and how does it compare to English?
Possession is expressed with the preposition van, which directly translates to “of” in English. Both languages use a similar structure to indicate possession: “The price of the car” in English and “De prijs van de auto” in Dutch, where van functions like the English of.
Why is auto preceded by de, and could it ever be written with a different article?
Auto is preceded by de because it is a common gender noun in Dutch. Dutch has two definite articles: de and het. In this case, auto takes de as its standard article. A different article wouldn’t be used unless the noun required het instead, which depends on the noun’s gender.
Are there any differences in how adjectives are used in Dutch compared to English?
Yes, there are differences. In Dutch, adjectives used attributively (before a noun) are often inflected (e.g., de hoge auto), whereas adjectives used predicatively (after a linking verb like is) are not inflected (as in De prijs van de auto is hoog). This distinction in adjective usage is important for learners to master the subtleties of Dutch grammar.