Introduction: Making Adjectives Agree

Adjectives in Dutch often take an ending (-e) when they come before a noun. You learned the basic rules at A1/A2 (usually add -e, except sometimes with indefinite het-words). At B1, we consolidate these rules and look at exceptions and special cases, covering the full picture of adjective declension.

The key factors determining the ending are:

1. The type of determiner (article, possessive, demonstrative) before the adjective.
2. The gender/number of the noun (de-word, het-word, singular, plural).
3. Whether the adjective is used predicatively (after the noun, usually with zijn).

Rule 1: Predicative Adjectives (After the Noun)

When an adjective comes after the noun and describes it using a linking verb like zijn (to be), worden (to become), blijven (to remain), lijken (to seem), etc., it never takes an ending.

• De man is groot. (The man is tall.)
• Het huis is groot. (The house is big.)
• De huizen zijn groot. (The houses are big.)
• De soep wordt koud. (The soup is getting cold.)

Rule 2: Attributive Adjectives (Before the Noun)

This is where the endings come into play. The general rule is that adjectives before a noun take an -e ending... except in one specific situation.

The Main Rule: Add -e to the adjective when it precedes the noun.

• De grote man. (The tall man) - de-word, singular
• De grote vrouw. (The tall woman) - de-word, singular
• Het grote huis. (The big house) - het-word, singular
• De grote huizen. (The big houses) - Plural
• Mijn grote huis. (My big house) - Possessive + het-word
• Deze grote man. (This tall man) - Demonstrative + de-word
• Dit grote huis. (This big house) - Demonstrative + het-word
• Een grote man. (A tall man) - Indefinite + de-word

The EXCEPTION: No -e ending is added when ALL THREE of the following conditions are met:

1. The adjective comes before a het-word.
2. The noun is singular.
3. The determiner before the adjective is:

• The indefinite article een (a/an)
• geen (no/not a)
• elk, ieder (each/every)
• welk (which)
• zo'n (such a)
• Or no determiner at all.

Examples of the Exception (No -e):

• Een mooi huis (A beautiful house) - een + het-word, singular
• Geen groot probleem (Not a big problem) - geen + het-word, singular
• Elk nieuw boek (Each new book) - elk + het-word, singular
• Welk oud gebouw? (Which old building?) - welk + het-word, singular
• Zo'n interessant onderwerp (Such an interesting topic) - zo'n + het-word, singular
• Koud water (Cold water - no determiner + het-word, singular)
• Vers brood (Fresh bread - no determiner + het-word, singular)

Why the exception? It relates to older grammatical cases, but functionally, this pattern must be learned.

Summary Table for Attributive Adjectives

Determiner	Noun Type	Adjective Ending
de	Singular (de-word)	-e
het	Singular (het-word)	-e
Possessive/Demonstrative	Singular (de/het)	-e
Any Determiner	Plural (de/het)	-e
een	Singular (de-word)	-e
een	Singular (het-word)	NO ending
geen	Singular (het-word)	NO ending
elk/ieder/welk	Singular (het-word)	NO ending
zo'n	Singular (het-word)	NO ending
No Determiner	Singular (het-word)	NO ending
No Determiner	Singular (de-word)	-e (e.g., rode wijn)
No Determiner	Plural	-e (e.g., lekkere koekjes)

Spelling Changes

When adding -e, standard spelling rules apply:

• Double final consonant after short vowel: wit -> witte
• Remove one vowel from long vowel sound: groen -> groene
• f -> v: lief -> lieve
• s -> z: grijs -> grijze

Special Cases

• Adjectives ending in -en (material): Usually no extra -e. De houten tafel (The wooden table), een gouden ring (a golden ring).
• Adjectives ending in -e: No extra -e. De oranje auto (The orange car).
• Adjectives ending in vowel: Sometimes tricky, often add -ë. lila -> lilaë (less common), beige -> beige.

The core rule for adjective endings before a noun is simple: add -e. The crucial part is remembering the single exception: no -e before a singular het-word when preceded by een, geen, elk, ieder, welk, zo'n, or no determiner. Predicative adjectives (after zijn, etc.) never get an ending.