Learn Hardcore Dutch: Die tafel kost veel geld. - That table costs a lot of money.

die is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that”. It points out a specific noun—in this case tafel—so die tafel translates literally to “that table.”

Why is it die tafel and not dat tafel?

Dutch demonstratives agree with the noun’s gender class:

de-words (common gender) take die or deze
het-words (neuter) take dat or dit
Since tafel is a de-word, you must use die, not dat.

Could I use deze tafel instead of die tafel, and what’s the difference?

Yes. deze also goes with de-words but means “this”, indicating something close to the speaker. die means “that”, implying more distance (physical or conversational).

Why is the verb kost and not kostet?

Dutch conjugation differs from German. The infinitive is kosten. In the present tense for hij/zij/het (third-person singular), you drop -en and add -t to the stem:
kosten → kost

How would I say “those tables cost a lot of money”?

Make both subject and verb plural:
Die tafels kosten veel geld.
Here tafels is plural, and the verb returns to the full infinitive form without -t.

Why is there no article before veel geld?

geld is an uncountable noun, and veel functions as a quantifier meaning “a lot of.” Quantifiers like veel, weinig, etc., replace the need for an article when you speak about indefinite amounts.

Why is it veel and not vele?

veel is used with uncountable nouns (geld, water, tijd) and also before singular/plural count nouns when you mean “many” in a general sense. vele is an older or more formal form typically reserved for countable plural nouns (e.g., vele mensen).

Do Dutch nouns get capitalized like in German? Why isn’t tafel capitalized?

No. In Dutch only proper nouns (names of people, places, etc.) are capitalized. Common nouns like tafel, huis, boek remain lowercase.