Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about De bodem van de pan is heet.
Why is de used as the article for both bodem and pan, and not het?
In Dutch, every noun is either common gender (taking de) or neuter (taking het). Both bodem (“bottom”) and pan (“pan”) are common gender nouns, so they always take de.
Why isn’t heet written as hete?
Adjectives in Dutch get an -e ending only when they’re used attributively (directly before a noun with an article), for example de hete pan. When an adjective follows a verb like zijn (“to be”), it remains uninflected: de pan is heet.
Why do we say bodem van de pan instead of bodem van pan or de panbodem?
- bodem van de pan uses van + definite noun phrase to express “the bottom of the pan.” You can’t drop de after van because the noun is still part of a full noun phrase.
- You could form the compound panbodem, which is grammatically correct, but it’s less common in everyday speech and often sounds more technical.
What’s the difference between bodem and onderkant?
- bodem refers to the inside bottom of a container (the interior base of a pan).
- onderkant means the outside underside or lower surface of any object.
In this context, bodem is correct because you’re talking about the interior.
Can I contract van de to van ’t here?
No. van ’t is a contraction of van het (used only with het-words). Since pan is a de-word, you cannot use van ’t pan.
How is bodem pronounced?
bodem is pronounced [ˈboː.dəm] in IPA:
- bo as a long [oː],
- final e as a schwa [ə], followed by [m].
Could I use warm instead of heet?
Yes, but they indicate different heat levels:
- warm = moderately hot, pleasant warmth
- heet = very hot, high temperature
If the pan truly is scalding, heet is the appropriate adjective.