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Questions & Answers about Het is stil in de nacht.
Why does the sentence start with Het? It doesn’t seem to refer to any noun.
In Dutch, het here is a dummy subject (an expletive pronoun), just like English it in it’s raining. It fills the required subject slot but doesn’t point to anything specific.
Why is it de nacht instead of het nacht?
Dutch nouns are classified as de or het, and nacht belongs to the de category. There’s no absolute rule—each noun’s article must be learned. Nacht is common gender, so it takes de.
Why is the adjective stil not stille? Shouldn’t it agree with nacht?
When an adjective follows a verb (predicative position), it remains in its base form (stil). Only attributive adjectives before a de or het noun get an -e ending (for example de stille nacht).
What’s the difference between in de nacht and ’s nachts? Can I say Het is stil ’s nachts?
In de nacht typically refers to a particular night or the night-time span. ’s Nachts is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning “at night” in general.
• Use Het is stil in de nacht when you mean one specific night.
• Use ’s Nachts is het stil when you talk about nighttime in general.
Can I change the word order to In de nacht is het stil? Why does the verb come before het?
Yes. Dutch uses V2 (verb-second) word order: if you front any element other than the subject (like In de nacht), the finite verb (is) must occupy the second position, pushing the subject (het) to third.
What’s the difference between stil and rustig? Could I say Het is rustig in de nacht?
Both adjectives can mean “quiet,” but:
- stil emphasizes the absence of sound (complete silence).
- rustig highlights a calm or peaceful atmosphere (not necessarily total silence).
You can say Het is rustig in de nacht if you want to stress a peaceful feeling rather than strict silence.
Why not say Er is stilte in de nacht instead of Het is stil in de nacht?
You can indeed say Er is stilte in de nacht. That construction uses the noun stilte (“silence”) and er as the dummy subject, focusing on the existence of silence. Het is stil uses the adjective stil, describing the state more directly.