Learn Hardcore Dutch: Het museum toont een prachtige collectie moderne kunst in de grote hal. - The museum shows a beautiful collection of modern art in the large hall.

Here the subject het museum is first, so toont comes right after.
If you start with something else (time, place, etc.), the verb still stays in slot 2, and the subject moves to slot 3.
Example: In de grote hal toont het museum…

How do I know it’s het museum but de hal?

Dutch nouns are either common gender (take de) or neuter (take het).

Museum is neuter → het museum.
Hal is common gender → de hal.
Unfortunately you often have to memorize which is which or look them up in a dictionary.

Why does prachtige end with -e?

Attributive adjectives in Dutch usually take an -e ending when placed before a noun if there is any article (definite de/het or indefinite een) or if the noun is treated as generic/definite.

een prachtige collectie
de grote hal
moderne kunst (generic, no article, but still takes -e)

Why is there no article before moderne kunst?

Kunst (art) here is an uncountable, generic noun. When talking about a category (modern art in general), Dutch often drops the article:

moderne kunst = modern art
Inside the phrase collectie moderne kunst, moderne kunst functions like a descriptor (“collection of modern art”).

Why not write collectie van moderne kunst?

Dutch allows you to link two nouns or a noun + noun phrase directly, without van.

collectie moderne kunst (condensed form)
collectie van moderne kunst (also correct, slightly more explicit)
Both mean “collection of modern art,” but the shorter version is very common in formal writing.

What’s the difference between tonen and laten zien?

Both verbs can mean “to show,” but there is a nuance:

tonen is a straightforward, transitive verb meaning “to exhibit/show.”
laten zien literally “let (someone) see,” more like “present something to someone.”
Example:
Het museum toont de collectie. (The museum exhibits the collection.)
Het museum laat de collectie zien. (The museum shows the collection.)

Can I change the word order of the sentence?

Yes, as long as the finite verb stays in second position. You can front-load different elements for emphasis:

In de grote hal toont het museum een prachtige collectie moderne kunst. (Location first.)
Een prachtige collectie moderne kunst toont het museum in de grote hal. (Object first.)
All versions are grammatically correct; the emphasis shifts with the order.

Why is it in de grote hal and not in een grote hal?

Using de makes the hall specific/known to both speaker and listener—the main hall of the museum. If you said in een grote hal, you would imply “in some big hall,” making it indefinite and not clearly the museum’s main hall.

Could I say een prachtige moderne kunstcollectie instead of een prachtige collectie moderne kunst?

Yes. You can form a compound noun moderne kunstcollectie (“modern art collection”) and then put prachtige before it:

een prachtige moderne kunstcollectie
However, many speakers prefer collectie moderne kunst when they want to emphasize “a collection of modern art” rather than a fixed term. Both are understandable, but the noun-first construction is very idiomatic in Dutch.

Why is the prepositional phrase in de grote hal placed at the end, and could it come earlier?

Dutch word order is flexible with adverbials (time, place, manner). In neutral style, locative phrases often come after the object, but you can also move them:

End: …moderne kunst in de grote hal.
Front: In de grote hal toont het museum…
Middle (after verb): Het museum toont in de grote hal een prachtige collectie.
All are possible; choice depends on rhythm and emphasis.