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De koelkast is leeg.

De koelkast is leeg.
The refrigerator is empty.
FromLesson 14inHardcore Dutch
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Breakdown of De koelkast is leeg.

zijn
to be
leeg
empty
de koelkast
the refrigerator

Questions & Answers about De koelkast is leeg.

What does koelkast mean in English?
Koelkast translates to refrigerator in English.
Why is the definite article de used instead of het?
Dutch nouns are categorized by gender. De is used for common gender nouns (masculine or feminine), while het is reserved for neuter nouns. Since koelkast is a common gender noun, the article de is used.
Why is the adjective leeg uninflected in this sentence?
In Dutch, adjectives that appear after a linking verb like is (used predicatively) remain in their base form without any inflection. Adjectives are only inflected when they directly precede the noun (attributive position), as seen in een lege koelkast for “an empty refrigerator.”
What role does the verb is play in the sentence?
Is is the third-person singular form of the verb zijn, which means to be. It functions as a linking verb, connecting the subject de koelkast to the predicate adjective leeg that describes it.
What is the overall structure of the sentence "De koelkast is leeg"?
The sentence follows a simple Subject–Verb–Predicate Adjective structure. De koelkast is the subject, is serves as the linking verb, and leeg is the predicate adjective providing information about the subject.
How would you form the negative version of this sentence?
To make the sentence negative, insert niet after the verb. The negative sentence becomes De koelkast is niet leeg, which means "The refrigerator is not empty."

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