Breakdown of Tom kocht dezelfde regenjas, maar in een andere kleur.
Tom
Tom
maar
but
in
in
kopen
to buy
een
a, an
de regenjas
the raincoat
ander
different
hetzelfde
the same
de kleur
the colour
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Questions & Answers about Tom kocht dezelfde regenjas, maar in een andere kleur.
Why is dezelfde used instead of hetzelfde for regenjas?
In Dutch, nouns are either common gender (de-words) or neuter gender (het-words). Regenjas is a common gender noun (it takes de), so you use dezelfde. If you had a neuter noun like huis (het huis), you’d say hetzelfde huis.
Why is the simple past kocht used instead of the present perfect heeft gekocht?
Dutch allows both the simple past (onvoltooid verleden tijd) and the present perfect (voltooid tegenwoordige tijd) for past actions.
- Kocht is common in written narratives or when you treat the action as a discrete event.
- Heeft gekocht is often used in spoken Dutch or when you focus on the result.
Here, the simple past sounds perfectly natural to report a past buying event.
Why does in een andere kleur appear at the end of the sentence?
Dutch word order often follows the “time–manner–place” rule after the verb and object. You have:
- Object: dezelfde regenjas
- Contrast conjunction: maar
- Place/adverbial complement: in een andere kleur
Positioning it at the end emphasizes the contrast in color.
What is the function of maar here? Could we leave it out?
Maar is the conjunction “but” and signals a contrast between two clauses.
- With maar, you highlight “same raincoat” vs “different color.”
- You can omit maar and still be understood (“Tom kocht dezelfde regenjas in een andere kleur”), but the sentence feels more neutral and the contrast less explicit.
Why is there no article before Tom?
Proper names in Dutch, like in English, typically do not require an article. You simply say Tom rather than de Tom.
Why is it een andere kleur and not een kleur anders or just andere kleur?
When you place an adjective before a singular noun with an indefinite article (een), you add -e to the adjective: andere.
- Anders is an adverb or used predicatively (“het is anders”).
- Andere kleur without een would need a definite article: de andere kleur (‘the other color’).
Can we drop the noun and say Tom kocht dezelfde, maar in een andere kleur?
Yes. After dezelfde you can omit the repeated noun if context is clear. It becomes a demonstrative pronoun: dezelfde [regenjas]. In speech you might hear that, though written Dutch often keeps the noun for clarity.