Introduction: Describing Nouns

Adjectives are words that describe nouns (people, places, things, ideas). They add detail and make our language more descriptive. Examples include groot (big), klein (small), mooi (beautiful), nieuw (new), oud (old), goed (good), slecht (bad). In Dutch, the spelling of an adjective can sometimes change depending on where it is in the sentence and the noun it describes.

Adjective Placement

There are two main positions for adjectives:

1. Predicate Position (After 'zijn'): The adjective comes after a form of the verb zijn (to be) and describes the subject.

• Het huis is groot. (The house is big.)
• De bloemen zijn mooi. (The flowers are beautiful.)
• Ik ben moe. (I am tired.)

Rule: In this position, the adjective NEVER changes its spelling. It always uses its base form.

1. Attributive Position (Before the Noun): The adjective comes directly before the noun it describes.

• het grote huis (the big house)
• de mooie bloemen (the beautiful flowers)
• een vermoeide man (a tired man)

Rule: In this position, the adjective OFTEN needs an extra -e added to its end. This is called adjective agreement or declension.

Adjective Agreement: When to Add -e

When an adjective comes before the noun, you need to know whether to add the -e ending. Here are the rules:

Add -e when the adjective precedes:

• A de-word (singular):
• de grote tafel (the big table)
• de rode fiets (the red bicycle)
• de Nederlandse vrouw (the Dutch woman)

• Any PLURAL noun (because all plurals take de):
• de grote huizen (the big houses)
• de mooie bloemen (the beautiful flowers)
• kleine kinderen (small children - note: no definite article needed, but still gets -e)
• interessante boeken (interesting books)

• A het-word when it follows:
• een: een groot huis (a big house)
• geen (no/not a): geen groot huis (no big house)
• Possessive pronouns (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar, ons, jullie, hun): mijn grote huis (my big house)
• Demonstrative pronouns (dit, dat): dit grote huis (this big house)
• Question words (welk): welk groot huis? (which big house?)

DO NOT Add -e when the adjective precedes:

• A het-word when it follows ONLY het or stands alone (indefinitely):
• het grote huis (the big house) -> ADD -e (because het is specific)
• BUT: If referring indefinitely or generally to het-word type without een, het, mijn etc., the -e is often dropped. This is less common in basic sentences but important for understanding.
• Compare: Ik wil een groot huis. (I want a big house.) -> -e added.
• Compare: Groot huis te koop. (Big house for sale. - general, non-specific) -> no -e.
• Compare: Het huis is groot. (The house is big.) -> Adjective after zijn, no -e.
• Simplified A1 focus: Usually, if it's het X, add -e (het grote huis). If it's een X (where X is a het-word), add -e (een groot huis).

• When the adjective is in the predicate position (after zijn). (As mentioned above)
• Het huis is groot.

Summary Table (Adjective Before Noun)

Noun Type	Preceding Word	Add -e?	Example
de-word (sg)	de, een, mijn, etc. or none	YES	de/een/mijn rode auto
Plural (de-word)	de, mijn, etc. or none	YES	de/mijn/rode auto's
het-word (sg)	het, dit, dat, welk	YES	het/dit grote huis
het-word (sg)	een, geen, mijn, etc.	YES	een/geen/mijn groot huis
het-word (sg)	none (indefinite/general)	NO	warm water (warm water)

Adjectives make descriptions vivid. When placed after zijn, they don't change. When placed before a noun, they usually take an -e, except typically before indefinite singular het-words. Remember that all plurals and all de-words trigger the -e ending on preceding adjectives.