Word
De auto is bijna nieuw.
Meaning
The car is almost new.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about De auto is bijna nieuw.
What does the adverb bijna mean, and how does it function in this sentence?
Bijna means almost in English. It functions as an adverb modifying the adjective nieuw, indicating that while the car is nearly new, it isn’t completely new.
Why is the adjective nieuw not inflected as nieuwe in this sentence?
In Dutch, adjectives used predicatively (after a linking verb like is) remain in their base form. When adjectives are used attributively before a noun, they often receive an -e ending (as in de nieuwe auto), but in a predicate like de auto is bijna nieuw, no ending is added.
What role does the definite article de play in this sentence?
De is the definite article used in Dutch for common gender nouns. It tells us that the speaker is referring to a specific car, much like the would in English.
How is the sentence structured in terms of word order, and is this typical in Dutch?
The sentence follows a standard subject-verb-predicate structure: De auto (subject), is (linking verb), and bijna nieuw (predicate adjective phrase). This order is typical for Dutch, especially in predicative constructions, similar to English.
How would the adjective change if it were placed directly before the noun (attributively) rather than used predicatively?