Learn Hardcore Dutch: De hond eet alleen maar brood.

In Dutch every noun is assigned a grammatical “gender” category: common (using de) or neuter (using het). hond belongs to the common-gender class, so it takes the definite article de.

Why is there no article before brood?

Here brood is treated as an uncountable noun—“bread” in general—so it appears without a definite or indefinite article. If you meant “the bread” you’d say het brood, and if you wanted a single loaf you could say een brood (“a loaf of bread”).

What does alleen maar mean, and why is it two words?

alleen maar is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning “only” or “nothing but.” alleen by itself can mean “only” or “alone,” and maar here is an intensifying particle. Together they stress that the dog eats nothing besides bread. You’ll also see alternatives like slechts or enkel, but alleen maar is very common in speech.

What part of speech is maar in this sentence?

In alleen maar, maar is not the conjunction “but” but an adverbial particle that strengthens the exclusivity expressed by alleen.