Breakdown of De kapotte lamp gaf geen licht, maar de regenboog buiten kleurde het gebied.
maar
but
buiten
outside
geven
to give
het licht
the light
de regenboog
the rainbow
geen
no
de lamp
the lamp
kapot
broken
het gebied
the area
kleuren
to colour
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Questions & Answers about De kapotte lamp gaf geen licht, maar de regenboog buiten kleurde het gebied.
What does kapotte mean, and why does it have an -e ending?
kapotte is the adjective “broken.” In Dutch, adjectives preceding a de- word (like de lamp) get an -e ending. So you say de kapotte lamp (the broken lamp), but if you had an indefinite neuter noun like een kapot raam (a broken window), there is no -e because een and neuter indefinite don’t trigger it.
Why is the verb gaf used instead of geefde or geven?
gaf is the simple past tense of geven (“to give”). Dutch irregular verbs like geven form the past differently, much like English “give → gave.” You need gaf here because the sentence is describing something that happened in the past.
What is the role of geen in gaf geen licht?
geen negates a noun. licht is an uncountable noun here (“light”). By saying geen licht, you mean “no light.” The structure is subject + gaf + geen + noun to say “gave no light.”
How does maar function in this sentence?
maar means “but,” introducing a contrast. It connects the two clauses:
- De kapotte lamp gaf geen licht (The broken lamp gave no light)
- (maar) de regenboog buiten kleurde het gebied (but the rainbow outside colored the area)
Why is buiten placed after regenboog instead of before it?
Here, buiten is used as an adverb meaning “outside.” Dutch sometimes allows the adverb after the noun it modifies: de regenboog buiten literally “the rainbow outside.” You could also say de regenboog die buiten was, but the shorter form is common in descriptive phrases.
Is kleurde a transitive verb, and why is het gebied its object?
Yes, kleuren (to color) can be transitive. In the past tense it becomes kleurde for singular subjects. het gebied (“the area”) is the thing being colored by the rainbow, so it’s the direct object.
Why do both de kapotte lamp and de regenboog take de as the definite article?
Dutch has two definite articles: de for common-gender nouns and het for neuter. Both lamp and regenboog are common-gender nouns, so they use de. Neuter nouns (like huis, “house”) would take het huis.