Understanding Dutch Adjectives

In this guide, you will learn how Dutch adjectives work and how to use them effectively in sentences. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns, allowing you to provide more information about objects, people, or things. We will cover the position of adjectives in a sentence and the basic agreement rules that apply to Dutch adjectives.

Position of Dutch Adjectives

1. Adjectives generally come before the noun they describe.
   Example: een mooie auto (a beautiful car)

2. In some cases, adjectives can come after the noun they describe. This usually happens when the adjective is part of a fixed expression or used for emphasis.
   Example: de stad oud (the old city)

3. When there are multiple adjectives describing a noun, the order is as follows:
   Article - Quantity or number - Quality - Size - Age - Shape - Color - Origin - Material - Purpose
   Example: een kleine rode auto (a small red car)

Agreement Rules

Dutch adjectives need to agree in gender, number, and definiteness with the noun they describe. Here are the basic agreement rules:

1. Definite article 'de' (the) or no article:

   • Adjectives with the definite article 'de' or no article do not change.
     Example: de groene auto (the green car)

2. Definite article 'het' (the):

   • For neuter nouns preceded by the definite article 'het', adjectives take the ending '-e' in singular form and '-e' in plural form.
     Example: het groene huis (the green house), de groene huizen (the green houses)
   • However, if the adjective already ends in '-e' in singular form, it remains the same in the plural.
     Example: het kleine huis (the small house), de kleine huizen (the small houses)

3. Indefinite article 'een' (a/an) or no article:

   • For indefinite articles 'een' or no article, adjectives do not change.
     Example: een mooie stad (a beautiful city)

4. Plural nouns (definite and indefinite article):

   • Adjectives with plural nouns always end in '-e'.
     Example: de mooie huizen (the beautiful houses), mooie huizen (beautiful houses)

5. Personal pronouns (definite and indefinite article):

   • Adjectives with personal pronouns always end in '-e' except for the pronoun 'het'.
     Example: mijn mooie huis (my beautiful house), hun mooie huis (their beautiful house)

Summary

In summary, Dutch adjectives provide additional information about nouns. They generally come before the noun they describe, but can sometimes come after. Adjectives agree in gender, number, and definiteness with the noun they modify. Remember the order of multiple adjectives and make the necessary changes based on the agreement rules.

Now that you understand how Dutch adjectives work, you can confidently describe things, objects, or persons in Dutch!