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Anna maakt het schilderij mooi af.

Anna maakt het schilderij mooi af.
Anna finishes the painting nicely.
FromLesson 36inHardcore Dutch
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Breakdown of Anna maakt het schilderij mooi af.

Anna
Anna
afmaken
to finish
het schilderij
the painting
mooi
nicely
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Questions & Answers about Anna maakt het schilderij mooi af.

What is the main verb in the sentence Anna maakt het schilderij mooi af and why is it split?
The main verb is afmaken, a separable verb. In a main clause the prefix af detaches and moves to the end of the sentence, while the finite part maakt stays in second position.
Why does af appear at the end of the sentence instead of next to maakt?
Dutch has many separable verbs (like afmaken, opeten, meebrengen). In main clauses the prefix (here af) goes to the final position. If you embedded the clause, it would stay attached again (e.g. “…dat Anna het schilderij mooi afmaakt”).
In this sentence, is mooi an adjective or an adverb, and why?
Here mooi is an adverb, describing how Anna finishes the painting. In Dutch most adverbs look identical to their adjective form, but their job is to modify the verb rather than the noun.
Could mooi appear in a different position, for instance before the object?

No. In a transitive sentence with a direct object like het schilderij, manner adverbs typically follow the object.
Correct: “Anna maakt het schilderij mooi af.”
Incorrect: “Anna maakt mooi het schilderij af.”

Why does the sentence use het schilderij instead of de schilderij?
The noun schilderij (painting) is a neuter noun in Dutch, so it takes the definite article het. Masculine and feminine nouns use de, neuter use het.
How would you replace het schilderij with a pronoun?

Since schilderij is neuter, you replace het schilderij by the neuter pronoun het.
Example: “Anna maakt het mooi af.”

How do you put this sentence into the past tense?

You use the past form of maken (which is maakte) and still place af at the end:
“Anna maakte het schilderij mooi af.”

Can you use a different verb instead of afmaken, such as voltooien or afwerken?

Yes.
• Voltooien is an inseparable verb, so it stays together and follows regular word order:
“Anna voltooide het schilderij mooi.”
• Afwerken is separable like afmaken, so you split it in a main clause:
“Anna werkt het schilderij mooi af.”