Editing Dutch grammar (section)

==Adjectives and adverbs==

Within the Dutch [[noun phrase]], adjectives are placed in front of the noun and after the article (if present).

===Inflection===

The inflection of adjectives follows the gender and number of the following noun. They also inflect for [[definiteness]], like in many other [[Germanic languages]]. When preceded by a definite article, demonstrative determiner, possessive determiner or any other kind of word that acts to distinguish one particular thing from another, the definite form of the adjective is used. In other cases, such as with an indefinite article, indefinite determiner (like {{lang|nl|veel}} "many" or {{lang|nl|alle}} "all"), the indefinite form is used.

Despite the many different aspects that determine the inflection of an adjective, the adjective only occurs in two main forms. The '''uninflected form''' or '''base form''' is the adjective without any endings. The '''inflected form''' has the ending {{lang|nl|-e}}. The inflection of adjectives is as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
!
! Masculine
! Feminine
! Neuter
! Plural
|-
! Indefinite
| een klein'''e''' man
| een klein'''e''' vrouw
| een klein huis
| klein'''e''' mannen, vrouwen, huizen
|-
! Definite
| de klein'''e''' man
| de klein'''e''' vrouw
| het klein'''e''' huis
| de klein'''e''' mannen, vrouwen, huizen
|}

Adjectives are only inflected in this way when they are in an [[Attributive adjective|attributive]] role, where they precede a noun and modify it. Adjectives in a predicative role, which are used in predicative sentences with a [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] verb, are not inflected and always use the uninflected form. Compare:

* {{lang|nl|de klein'''e''' man}} ("the small man") — {{lang|nl|de man is klein}} ("the man is small")
* {{lang|nl|klein'''e''' huizen}} ("small houses") — {{lang|nl|huizen zijn klein}} ("houses are small")

Most adjectives ending in {{lang|nl|-en}} have no inflected form. This includes adjectives for materials, as well as the past participles of strong verbs.

* {{lang|nl|de houten stoel}} ("the wooden chair")
* {{lang|nl|het stenen huis}} ("the brick house")
* {{lang|nl|de gebroken lampen}} ("the broken lamps")

Adjectives that end in a vowel in their uninflected form are rare, and there are no fixed rules for them. Often, the uninflected and inflected forms are the same, but sometimes an extra {{lang|nl|-ë}} is added on anyway.

====Additional uses of the uninflected form====

Uninflected adjectives are occasionally found in other contexts. With neuter nouns, if the adjective is inherently part of the noun as part of a set phrase, then the uninflected form is often used in the definite singular as well:

* {{lang|nl|het openbaar vervoer}} ("the public transport", as a specific entity)
* {{lang|nl|het openbar'''e''' vervoer}} ("the public transport", meaning the transport that is public, it could be any transport)
* {{lang|nl|het groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal}} ("the big dictionary of the Dutch language", as a proper title)
* {{lang|nl|het grot'''e''' woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal}} ("the big dictionary of the Dutch language", a dictionary that happens to be big)
* {{lang|nl|het Burgerlijk Wetboek}} ("the civil code", as a proper name)

Indefinite adjectives describing people often remain uninflected, if they express a personal quality. This is not stylistically neutral, but has a formal, rhetorical or poetic ring to it, and can occasionally distinguish literal meanings of an adjective from a more figurative one. Furthermore, this is only done with some nouns, not all.

* {{lang|nl|een talentvol schrijver}} ("a talented writer") — {{lang|nl|een talentvolle schrijver}} (the same)
* {{lang|nl|een groot man}} ("a great man"; figurative meaning) — {{lang|nl|een grote man}} ("a big/tall man"; literal meaning) — {{lang|nl|een grote vrouw}} ("a great/big/tall woman"; {{lang|nl|-e}} is always used with {{lang|nl|vrouw}})

===Partitive===

Adjectives have a special form called the '''partitive''' that is used after an [[indefinite pronoun]] such as {{lang|nl|iets}} 'something', {{lang|nl|niets}} 'nothing', {{lang|nl|veel}} 'much, a lot', {{lang|nl|weinig}} 'little, a few'. The partitive form takes the ending {{lang|nl|-s}}.

* {{lang|nl|Vertel me iets interessant'''s'''.}} ("Tell me something interesting.")
* {{lang|nl|Ik heb iemand nieuw'''s''' leren kennen.}} ("I've got to meet somebody new.")

Adjectives already ending in {{lang|nl|-s}} or {{lang|nl|-sch}} don't take this ending:

* {{lang|nl|Ik heb iets paars aangetrokken.}} ("I've put on something purple.") (the base form is already {{lang|nl|paars}})
* {{lang|nl|Er is niet veel fantastisch aan.}} ("There isn't much fantastic about it.")

The few adjectives that end in a long vowel take instead {{lang|nl|-'s}} with an apostrophe like certain noun plurals.

* {{lang|nl|Ik vond paars niet zo mooi, dus heb ik nu iets lila'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s'''.}} ("I didn't like purple so much, so now I have something lilac.")

===Adjectives used as adverbs===

The uninflected form of an adjective is implicitly also an adverb. This makes it hard at times to distinguish adjectives and adverbs in Dutch.

* {{lang|nl|Dat is een snell'''e''' auto. De auto rijdt snel.}} ("That is a fast car. The car drives fast.")
* {{lang|nl|Wij werden vriendelijk begroet door die vriendelijk'''e''' mensen.}} ("We were kindly welcomed by those kind people.")

===Adjectives used as nouns===

The inflected form of an adjective can also be used as a noun. Three types can be distinguished:

* The noun that the adjective refers to is omitted but implied. The adjective will then be inflected as if the noun had been present, although the inflected form is normally used even in the indefinite neuter singular.
** {{lang|nl|Je kunt deze auto kopen in verschillende kleuren. Wil je de '''groene''', de '''blauwe''' of de '''gele'''?}} ("You can buy this car in various colours. Do you want the green, the blue or the yellow one?")
** {{lang|nl|Wij hebben drie kinderen, twee '''grote''' en een '''kleine'''.}} ("We have three children, two big ones and a small one.", alternatively {{lang|nl|Wij hebben drie kinderen, twee grote en een klein.}})
* The adjective is used as a masculine/feminine noun in its own right, usually referring to a person. The {{lang|nl|-e}} will always be added, even to adjectives that already end in {{lang|nl|-en}}. The plural is formed with {{lang|nl|-n}}.
** {{lang|nl|Je rijdt als een '''blinde'''!}} ("You drive like a blind person!")
** {{lang|nl|Waar ben je, mijn '''geliefde'''?}} ("Where are you, my loved one?")
** {{lang|nl|Laat de '''gevangene''' vrij!}} ("Release the prisoner!", from the past participle {{lang|nl|gevangen}} "captured, imprisoned")
** {{lang|nl|De '''rijken''' moeten de '''armen''' helpen.}} ("The rich should help the poor.")
* The adjective is used as a neuter [[mass noun]] describing a concept.
** {{lang|nl|Ik kan geen antwoord geven, omdat ik het '''gevraagde''' niet begrijp.}} ("I can't answer, because I don't understand what was asked.")
** {{lang|nl|Angst voor het '''onbekende''' is heel gewoon.}} ("Fear of the unknown is very normal.")

===Comparative and superlative===

Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative. The comparative and superlative are formed synthetically, by adding endings to the adjective. The comparative and superlative can also be formed analytically by using {{lang|nl|meer}} "more" and {{lang|nl|meest}} "most", but this is much rarer than in English. The analytic forms are used only when the word would become particularly long, or when it would become hard to pronounce (particularly in the superlative).

The comparative is formed by adding {{lang|nl|-er}} to the base form. For adjectives that end in {{lang|nl|-r}}, the comparative is formed by adding {{lang|nl|-der}} to the base form instead. The comparative inflects as an adjective in its own right, having inflected and partitive forms. The uninflected comparative can be used as an adverb as well.

* {{lang|nl|Ik ben groot, maar jij bent grot'''er'''.}} ("I'm big, but you're bigger.")
* {{lang|nl|Dit speelgoed kan gevaarlijk zijn voor klein'''ere''' kinderen.}} ("This toy can be dangerous for smaller children.")
* {{lang|nl|Deze jas is duur'''der'''.}} ("This coat is more expensive.")
* {{lang|nl|Heb je niets goedkop'''ers'''?}} ("Do you have nothing cheaper?")
* {{lang|nl|Dat heb je nog fantastisch'''er''' gedaan dan de vorige keer!}} ("You did it even more fantastically than last time!")

The superlative is formed by adding {{lang|nl|-st}}. This is equivalent to adding {{lang|nl|-t}} to the partitive, and the same rules apply. When an adjective ends in {{lang|nl|-s}} or {{lang|nl|-sch}}, this becomes {{lang|nl|-st}} and {{lang|nl|-scht}}, but these forms are more rarely used, and the analytic form with {{lang|nl|meest}} is preferred.

* {{lang|nl|De Mont Blanc is de hoog'''ste''' berg van de Alpen.}} ("Mont Blanc is the highest mountain of the Alps.")
* {{lang|nl|Dit is het vies'''te''' toilet dat ik ooit heb gezien.}} ("This is the dirtiest toilet I've ever seen.", alternatively {{lang|nl|Dit is het '''meest vieze''' toilet}})

Because it is most often used to distinguish one particular thing from all others, the superlative is generally accompanied by a definite article. This means it is rarely found in the uninflected form. Even in predicative sentences, a definite article precedes, so it becomes more like a noun phrase with an implied noun.

* {{lang|nl|Deze jas is de duur'''ste'''.}} ("This coat is the most expensive.")
* {{lang|nl|Dit huis is het groot'''ste'''.}} ("This house is the biggest.")

When used as an adverb, the superlative is always preceded by the neuter article {{lang|nl|het}}, unlike in English where this is optional. Either the uninflected or the inflected form can be used, without any difference in meaning. This form can also be used as part of predicative sentences, which can lead to a mismatch of genders which may seem odd at first glance, but is correct nonetheless:

* {{lang|nl|Deze jas is '''het''' duur'''st'''('''e''').}} ("This coat is (the) most expensive")
* {{lang|nl|Dit huis is '''het''' groot'''st'''('''e''').}} ("This house is (the) biggest.")
* {{lang|nl|Onze auto rijdt '''het''' hard'''st'''('''e''') van allemaal.}} ("Our car drives (the) fastest of all.")

The first sentence meaning "This coat is the most expensive" has the same meaning as the first sentence further above. They are interchangeable, but they would be parsed differently. With the article {{lang|nl|de}}, there is an implied noun, and it might better be translated as "the most expensive ''one''". The superlative must also be in the inflected form in this case, {{lang|nl|de duurst}} would be incorrect. With the article {{lang|nl|het}}, there is no implied noun, and both the inflected ({{lang|nl|het duurste}}) and uninflected form ({{lang|nl|het duurst}}) can be used.

Some comparatives and superlatives are [[Suppletion|suppletive]], and use a different root than the base form. These are irregular.

* {{lang|nl|goed, beter, best}} 'good/well, better, best'
* {{lang|nl|veel, meer, meest}} 'much/many, more, most'
* {{lang|nl|weinig, minder, minst}} 'little/few, less/fewer, least/fewest'
* {{lang|nl|graag, liever, liefst}} 'willingly/gladly, rather/more preferably, most preferably'
* {{lang|nl|dikwijls, vaker, vaakst}} 'often, more often, most often'

When an adjective is a compound of an adverb and a verb participle, the adverb sometimes changes rather than the whole word. A space may be added as well.

* {{lang|nl|dichtbij, dichterbij, dichtstbij}} 'close/nearby, closer, closest'
* {{lang|nl|dichtbevolkt, dichter bevolkt, dichtstbevolkt}} 'densely populated, more densely populated, most densely populated'