| Grammar Notes: Word-by-Word Breakdown * Een - A. (Indefinite article). * kalme - Calm. (Adjective). The infinitive form is 'kalm'. It ends in an 'e' because 'rivier' is a de-noun. * rivier - River. (Noun, common, de). Infinitive: rivier. * met - With. (Preposition). * kleine - Small. (Adjective). The infinitive is 'klein'. It ends in an 'e' because 'watervallen' is a plural de-noun. * watervallen - Waterfalls. (Noun, common, de). This is the plural form. The singular is 'waterval'. * en - And. (Conjunction). * een - A. (Indefinite article). * hoge - High / Tall. (Adjective). The infinitive is 'hoog'. It ends in an 'e' because 'waterval' is a de-noun. * waterval - Waterfall. (Noun, common, de). Infinitive: waterval. * tussen - Between. (Preposition). * de - The. (Definite article). * kliffen - Cliffs. (Noun, common, de). This is the plural form. The singular is 'klif'. Grammar Explanation This sentence is a noun phrase, not a full sentence with a verb. It describes a scene. The main structure is: Een [adjective] [noun] met [list of features]. * Adjective Endings: In Dutch, adjectives placed before a noun usually get an -e ending. This happens with both singular *de*-words (like 'de rivier') and all plural nouns. Since 'rivier', 'waterval', and 'watervallen' are all *de*-words, the adjectives ('kalme', 'hoge', 'kleine') all take the -e ending. * Prepositions: The prepositions 'met' (with) and 'tussen' (between) are used to link the elements of the description. 'Tussen' is always followed by the definite article 'de' or 'het' (here, 'de kliffen'). General Grammar Tip & Related Words A common structure for describing a noun is: Article + Adjective + Noun + Preposition + Additional Information. Related words from the same family: * bergen - mountains (plural, singular is 'berg') * meer - lake (het-noun) * bos - forest (het-noun) |
