After _zijn_ (to be), _worden_ (to become) and _blijven_ (to stay), a Dutch adjective (a describing word like big or cold) keeps its basic form, with no -e: _Het huis is groot_. The -e belongs to adjectives that stand before a noun, as in _het grote huis_. So once the adjective comes after the verb, you can forget about the -e.
The pattern
After _zijn_, _worden_ and _blijven_, the adjective gets no -e. The -e belongs before a noun.
- These three are linking verbs: verbs that link the subject to a description. _Het huis is groot._ _Ik word moe._ _Het blijft koud._
- De-word, het-word or plural: after the verb it makes no difference. _De soep is warm._ _De appels zijn duur._
- Put the adjective before a noun and the -e usually appears: _de warme soep_, _de dure appels_. The details are in [Adjective endings: when to add -e](#/lesson/adjective-endings).
- No -e also means none of the [spelling changes](#/lesson/adjective-spelling): _duur_ stays _duur_, _wit_ stays _wit_.
- _Lijken_ (to seem) works the same way: _Het lijkt duur._
Examples
| De koffie is koud. | The coffee is cold. |
|---|---|
| Ik drink geen koude koffie. | I don't drink cold coffee. |
| De fiets van Ahmed is nieuw. | Ahmed's bike is new. |
| Ahmed heeft een nieuwe fiets. | Ahmed has a new bike. |
| De appels zijn duur. | The apples are expensive. |
| Priya koopt geen dure appels. | Priya doesn't buy expensive apples. |
| Ik word moe. | I'm getting tired. |
| In november wordt het vroeg donker. | In November it gets dark early. |
| Het weer blijft mooi. | The weather stays nice. |
| Fatima blijft rustig. | Fatima stays calm. |
Why it works this way
An adjective can do two jobs. Before a noun, it helps to name something: _de koude koffie_ is one package, and the -e ties that package together. After _is_, _wordt_ or _blijft_, the adjective is a separate comment about the subject: _De koffie is koud._ A comment stands on its own, so it stays bare.
German does the same (_Das Haus ist groß_), so German speakers have a head start. In Spanish and Arabic, adjectives agree with the noun even after the verb, so speakers of those languages often add -e after a plural subject. English speakers usually get it right at first, then start adding -e in the wrong places right after learning the ending.
You will sometimes hear an -e after _is_ anyway: _Mijn fiets is de rode_ (my bike is the red one). That -e is there because the noun _fiets_ is understood after _rode_, with _de_ in front. A bare adjective after the verb never gets -e. A few adjectives, like _open_, never take -e anywhere: see [Adjectives that never take -e](#/lesson/adjectives-without-e).
Remember: the -e is glue that only sticks an adjective to a noun. After _is_, _wordt_ or _blijft_ there is no noun to stick to, so the glue stays in the tube.
Watch out
- Not: _De soep is warme._ Say: _De soep is warm._ (no noun follows, so no -e, even with a de-word)
- Not: _De kinderen worden grote._ Say: _De kinderen worden groot._ (plurals get no -e after the verb either)
- Not: _Het blijft koude._ Say: _Het blijft koud._ (_blijven_ is a linking verb too)
- Not: _Het is een koud dag._ Say: _Het is een koude dag._ (here the de-word _dag_ follows, so the -e is needed)
Quick check
- Fill in the right form of _vol_: _De trein is ..._
- Fill in the right form of _snel_: _Bas heeft een ... fiets._
- Choose _boos_ or _boze_: _Yara wordt ..._
- Fix the sentence: _De bananen worden bruine._
Answers
- _vol_: it comes after _is_, so no -e.
- _snelle_: the adjective stands before the de-word _fiets_, so it gets -e, and the l doubles after the short vowel.
- _boos_: after _wordt_ the adjective stays bare.
- _De bananen worden bruin._ A plural subject changes nothing after _worden_.
Use it today
Tonight, describe your day in three short sentences with _is_, _wordt_ and _blijft_, for example _Het is koud_, _Ik word moe_ and _Het blijft druk op het werk_. Then turn one of them into a phrase with a noun, like _een koude dag_.