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Questions & Answers about Het effect is groot.
What does the article het signify in this sentence?
It indicates that the noun effect is neuter. In Dutch, neuter nouns take the definite article het, similar to how we use the in English—but the article choice is determined by the noun’s grammatical gender.
Why is the adjective groot used without an -e ending in this sentence?
In Dutch, when an adjective is used predicatively—that is, after a linking verb like is—it stays in its base form. The -e ending is typically added when the adjective is used attributively (directly before a noun), not after a linking verb.
What is the grammatical structure of “Het effect is groot”?
The sentence follows a subject–linking verb–predicate adjective order. Het effect is the subject, is is the linking verb (the third-person singular form of zijn, “to be”), and groot functions as the predicate adjective describing the effect.
How is the verb is correctly conjugated here, and why is it appropriate?
The verb is is the third-person singular form of zijn and is used because het effect is a singular subject. This conjugation mirrors English, where we say “The effect is big.”
Are there any notable differences between the use of “het” in Dutch and “the” in English?
Yes. While both het and the serve as definite articles, het also signals that the noun it accompanies is neuter. English does not mark gender with its articles, so Dutch learners need to remember the gender-specific articles (het for neuter and de for common gender) when forming sentences.