Learn Hardcore Dutch: De brug is oud en niet veilig.

In Dutch there are two definite articles, de and het. De is used with common-gender nouns (masculine and feminine), while het is used with neuter nouns. Brug (bridge) is a common-gender noun, so it takes de, giving de brug.

How can I tell whether a noun takes de or het?

Unfortunately, you often have to memorize the article with the noun. As a rough guideline: • Most plural nouns and all nouns for people or animals take de.
• Diminutives (small forms like huisje, mannetje) always take het.
• There are lists and apps you can use to practice (“het-woorden” vs. “de-woorden”).
Over time you’ll develop a feel for it.

Why is the adjective oud not inflected to oude here?

In predicative position—when an adjective follows a form of zijn (to be)—the adjective stays in its base form. So after is you say oud, not oude. You would use oude only attributively, e.g. de oude brug (the old bridge).

Why do adjectives follow the verb is in De brug is oud en niet veilig?

Dutch word order for a simple sentence is Subject – Verb – (Adjective/Object). Predicative adjectives (describing the subject via “to be”) come after the verb, not before the noun. That’s why you say De brug is oud, not De oude is brug.

Why is niet placed before veilig rather than at the end of the clause?

In Dutch, niet (not) typically precedes the specific element it negates. Here you want to negate the adjective veilig (safe), so you say niet veilig. Placing niet at the very end would negate the whole sentence or sound odd: De brug is oud en veilig niet isn’t standard.

What’s the difference between niet veilig and the single adjective onveilig?

Both mean “not safe,” but: • onveilig is a single adjective formed with the prefix on-. It’s concise and common.
• niet veilig emphasizes the negation and can feel a bit more informal or descriptive.
You can freely use De brug is oud en onveilig if you prefer.

Why is there no comma before en in oud en niet veilig?

Dutch doesn’t use a comma to separate two adjectives joined by en. You simply connect them: oud en niet veilig. In longer lists you might still use commas, but not before the final en (the so-called Oxford comma rule doesn’t apply in the same way).

Can I use maar (but) instead of en here, like oud maar niet veilig?

You could, but it changes the nuance.
• en simply links two descriptions: “old and not safe.”
• maar introduces a contrast: “old but not safe,” implying surprise or exception.
Both are grammatically correct, but en is more neutral.

Could I combine these adjectives attributively, e.g. de oude onveilige brug?

Yes, but then you must inflect both adjectives and stick them before the noun: • oude (inflected from oud)
• onveilige (inflected from onveilig)
You’d say de oude onveilige brug for “the old unsafe bridge.” In that position, adjectives take -e.