De straat is smal.

to be

Breakdown of De straat is smal.

• de straat: the street
• smal: narrow

Questions & Answers about De straat is smal.

What is the role of De in the sentence?

De is the definite article in Dutch, equivalent to "the" in English. It signals that the noun straat is specific, and it’s used with common gender nouns.

How does De straat is smal. translate into English?

It translates to "The street is narrow." De straat means "the street", and is smal means "is narrow."

Why does the adjective smal remain unchanged after the verb is?

In Dutch, adjectives used predicatively (after a linking verb like is) do not take any additional endings. Therefore, smal stays in its base form when describing the subject.

Would the form of the adjective change if it were used before the noun instead of after the verb?

Yes, when an adjective is used attributively (directly before the noun), it usually receives an ending to agree with the noun’s gender and number. For example, "de smalle straat" uses smalle as the inflected form of smal.

What is the word order of the sentence, and how typical is it in Dutch?