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.