De airco werkt prima, maar hij maakt wel een beetje lawaai.

The air-conditioning works fine, but it does make a bit of noise.

Breakdown of De airco werkt prima, maar hij maakt wel een beetje lawaai.

• maar: but
• hij: he
• werken: to work
• een: a, an
• maken: to make
• het lawaai: the noise
• het beetje: the bit
• de airco: the air-conditioning
• prima: fine
• wel: indeed

Questions & Answers about De airco werkt prima, maar hij maakt wel een beetje lawaai.

Why is airco used with the article de, and how do I know when to use de versus het?

In Dutch every noun is either common gender (de) or neuter (het). Airco is treated as a common‐gender word, so it takes de airco. Unfortunately you often have to learn each noun’s article by heart. As a guideline: many living things and borrowings ending in –ing, –ie, –tie, –heid etc. are de, but there are exceptions.

Why do we refer back to de airco with hij instead of het?

Pronouns in Dutch agree with the noun’s grammatical gender. Since airco is a de‐word (common gender), the corresponding pronoun is hij. If it had been a neuter noun (like het huis), you would use het.

What does werkt prima mean, and how is prima different from goed?

Werkt prima translates as “works excellently/just fine.” Prima is a loanword meaning “first‐rate” or “excellent” and is a bit stronger or more colloquial than goed (“good”). It’s often used to praise how well something functions.

What role does maar play in this sentence?

Maar means “but” and introduces the contrast between the two clauses: the airco works perfectly, but there’s a downside (noise). In Dutch you place a comma before maar, much like in English.

What nuance does the adverb wel add in “hij maakt wel een beetje lawaai”?

Here wel has a concessive or softening effect: “it does (indeed) make a bit of noise.” It signals that you acknowledge the noise even though overall the airco works well. Without wel, the statement would feel more abrupt.

Why is it een beetje lawaai and not just lawaai or een lawaai?

Lawaai is an uncountable noun meaning “noise.” To indicate a small amount, you use een beetje + uncountable noun (= “a bit of noise”). You cannot say een lawaai because lawaai isn’t countable in that sense.

How does the word order work in “maar hij maakt wel een beetje lawaai”?

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb‐second). Here maar occupies position 1, hij is position 2, and the finite verb maakt is position 3. The rest (wel een beetje lawaai) follows in the normal order: adverb + quantifier + object.

What’s the difference between lawaai and geluid?

Both mean “sound,” but lawaai implies unwanted or loud noise (“racket, din”), whereas geluid is neutral (“sound” in general). You’d use lawaai when describing something noisy or annoying.