Dutch III Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
Dutch word order requires Time - Manner - Place. English generally uses
place before time, but Dutch cannot.
Hij gaat morgen met de trein naar Londen. He's going to London tomorrow
by train. (Literally: he's going tomorrow by train to London.)
The verb must always be in the second position in a Dutch sentence. This
not does not mean that it must always be the second word, however.
(Inversion of subject and verb to form questions is an exception.)
In de winter gaat hij met de trein naar Londen. In the winter he's
going to London by train. (Literally: In the winter goes he by train to
London.)
Separable prefixes, past participles and infinitive always go to the end of the clause or sentence. The double infinitive construction always goes to the end of the clause or sentence as well.
The stem with the appropriate spelling changes is most commonly used as the command form. When being polite, the u form is used (with u following the verb.) If a verb has a separable prefix, it is sent to the end of the clause. The "let's" form plus a verb is rendered in Dutch by laten we + infinitive. When the command is general and no one in particular is being addressed, the infinitive is used, especially on signs.
Kijk! Look!
Laat mij het doen! Let me do it!
Blijft u zitten. Please remain seated.
Kijk uit! Look out!
Laten we gaan. Let's go.
Niet roken. No smoking.
Trekken / Duwen. Pull / Push.
Note that zijn has an irregular imperative form: wees (and the polite form: weest u)
43. Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions 
Coordinating conjunctions join two sentences together. Word order is not affected by coordinating conjunctions. Examples are en (and), dus (so, thus), maar (but), of (or) and want (for, because).
Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect an independent and dependent clause together, and they do affect word order. An independent (or main) clause contains a subject and verb and can stand alone as its own sentence. A dependent (or subordinate) clause also contains a subject and verb, but is introduced with a subordinating conjunction and cannot stand alone as its own sentence.
Mijn zoon was ziek, toen hij klein was. My son
was sick when he was little.
Ik weet dat jij mij leuk vindt. I know that you like me.
When a subordinating conjunction introduces a clause, the next clause must begin with a verb.
Hoewel hij jong is, is hij erg rijk.
Although he is young, he is very rich.
Zodra ik klaar ben, kom ik even langs. As soon as
I'm ready, I'll come over.
Subordinating Conjunctions
| if/when as if except that that although to the extent that now whether because after since |
als alsof behalve dat dat hoewel inzover(re) dat nu(dat) of omdat na(dat) sinds |
unless while when (in past) until when before just so that as long as without as far as |
tenzij terwijl toen tot(dat) wanneer voor(dat) zoals zodat zolang zonder dat zover |
| Happy New Year |
Gelukkig nieuwjaar Zalig pasen / Vrolijk Pasen Zalig kerstfeest Hartelijk gefeliciteerd (met je verjaardag) |
Zalig is the word traditionally used by Catholics (the Pope uses it) when saying something in Dutch at Christmas. Protestants say Prettige kerstdagen (nice), Gelukkig kerstfeest (happy), or Vrolijk kerstfeest (cheerful); a lot of variation is possible.
Blijven (to remain) can be used with an infinitive to express a continuous or repeated action. Blijven acts like a modal verb in the sentence; blijven is conjugated and the other verb remains in the infinitive and goes to the end of the sentence.
De kat blijft naar de muis kijken. The cat keeps
looking at the mouse.
Blijft u maar zitten! Please remain seated!
Laten (to let, leave) can also behave like a modal verb when used with another verb. It corresponds to "to let" or "to have something done (by someone else)." In the perfect tense, laten also behaves like a modal because the infinitive is used instead of the past participle when it occurs with another verb.
Laten we naar huis gaan. Let's go home.
Zij laat haar kamer verven. She's having her room painted.
Hij heeft zijn auto laten wassen. He's had his car washed.
| airport | luchthaven | lane (town) | steeg |
| bakery | bakkerij | library | bibliotheek |
| bank | bank | market | markt |
| barn | schuur | monument | gedenkteken (n) |
| barracks | kazerne | museum | museum |
| bridge | brug | palace | paleis |
| bookstore | boekwinkel | path | pad (n) |
| building | gebouw (n) | pavement | trottoir (n) |
| castle | slot (n) | pharmacy | apotheek |
| cathedral | kathedraal | police station | politiebureau (n) |
| cemetery | kerkhof (n) | port | haven |
| church | kerk | prison | gevangenis |
| cinema | bioscoop | restaurant | restaurant |
| consulate | consulaat (n) | road (highway) | landweg |
| corner | straathoek | school | school |
| drugstore | apotheek | square | plein (n) |
| embassy | ambassade | stadium | stadium |
| factory | fabriek | store | winkel |
| farm | boerderij | street | straat |
| fountain | fontein | suburb | voorstad |
| garage | garage | theater | theater / schouwburg |
| hospital | ziekenhuis (n) | tower | toren |
| hotel | hotel | town | stad |
| house | huis (n) | town hall | stadhuis (n) |
| hut | hut | university | universiteit |
| inn | herberg | village | dorp |
| bus | (auto)bus |
| train | trein |
| airplane | vliegtuig |
| ship | schip |
| boat | boot |
| motorcycle | motorfiets |
| automobile | automobiel |
| streetcar | tram |
| moped | bromfiets |
| bicycle | fiets |
| car | auto(mobiel) |
The simple past tense in Dutch corresponds to the simple
past tense in English. It is not a compound tense like the perfect
tense, and some verbs have vowel changes, as in English. Generally,
the simple past tense is indicated in English by adding -ed to the verb
(for regular verbs, at least.) This tense is used for actions that
happened in the past and that are completely done. To form the past
tense, add -te (or -de) to the stem for the singular persons and -ten
(or -den) to the stem for the plural persons. If the verb stem ends
in p, t, k, f, s, or ch, add -te or -ten; for all other endings, add -de
or -den. Verbs that have either v or z as the final consonant of
the stem change them to f or s first and then add -de and -den.
| ik, jij, u, hij, zij | wij, jullie, zij | |
| wonen - to live | woonde | woonden |
| geloven - to believe | geloofde | geloofden |
| praten - to talk | praatte | praatten |
| spelen - to play | speelde | speelden |
| trouwen - to marry | trouwde | trouwden |
| werken - to work | werkte | werkten |
| fietsen - to cycle | fietste | fietsten |
49. Irregular Stems in Simple Past Tense
For some verbs, the internal vowel of the stem changes in
the past tense. The stem with the changed vowel then acts as the
past tense for all persons of the singular, while the plural adds -en
to the changed stem. In addition, there are some irregular verbs
that change more than the vowel, but still add nothing for the singular
and -en for the plural.
| ik, jij, u, hij, zij | wij, jullie, zij | |
| zijn - to be | was | waren |
| hebben - to have | had | hadden |
| gaan - to go | ging | gingen |
| weten - to know | wist | wisten |
| denken - to think | dacht | dachten |
| blijven - to stay | bleef | bleven |
| drinken - to drink | dronk | dronken |
| eten - to eat | at | aten |
| breken - to break | brak | braken |
| bijten - to bite | beet | beten |
| gieten - to pour | goot | goten |
50. House and Furniture
| alarm clock | wekker | desk | bureau | painting | schilderij (n) |
| armchair | leunstoel | door | deur | pillow | kussen (n) |
| ashtray | asbak (n) | drawer | lade | pipe (water) | pijpleiding |
| balcony | balkon (n) | dresser | ladenkast | radio | radio |
| basement | kelder | fire | vuur (n) | refrigerator | koelkast |
| basket | korf | flame | vlam | roof | dak (n) |
| bathroom | badkamer (n) | flat (apartment) | apartement | room | kamer |
| bed | bed (n) | floor | vloer | sheet | laken (n) |
| bedroom | slaapkamer | flower | bloem | shovel | schop |
| (door)bell | (deur)bel | furniture | meubelen (pl.) | shower | douche |
| blanket | deken | garden | tuin | smoke | rook |
| blinds | rolgordijn (n) | ground floor | benedenverdieping | sofa | (zit)bank |
| box | kist | hearth | haard | stairs | trap |
| broom | bezem | house | huis (n) | floor (of building) | verdieping |
| bucket | emmer | iron (flat) | strijkijzer (n) | stove | kachel |
| candle | kaars | kerosene | petroleum | table | tafel |
| carpet | tapijt (n) | key | sleutel | tap (faucet) | kraan |
| ceiling | plafond (n) | kitchen | keuken | television | televisie |
| chair | stoel | ladder | ladder | toilet (WC) | wc / toilet |
| chimney | schoorsteen | lamp | lamp | towel | handdoek |
| closet | kast | lock | slot (n) | vacuum cleaner | stofzuiger |
| computer | computer | mattress | matras | vase | vaas |
| corner | hoek | mirror | spiegel | wall (house) | muur |
| cupboard | kast | oven | oven | wall (room) | wand |
| curtain | gordijn (n) | pantry | provisiekast | window | raam (n) |
| cushion | kussen (n) | paper basket | prullenmand | yard | (achter)tuin |
These verbs are all translated as "to be" in certain cases. When an object is in an upright position, staan is used. When an object is lying down, liggen is used. When an object is inside of something else, zitten is used.
De auto staat voor het huis. The car is in front of the
house.
De krant ligt op de grond. The newspaper is on the floor.
De pen zit in de tas. The pen is in the bag.
| belt | riem | pants (trousers) | broek |
| boot | laars | pin | speld |
| braces | bretels (pl.) | pipe | pijp |
| brush | borstel | zak | |
| button | knoop | shirt | overhemd (n) |
| cigar | sigaar | shoe | schoen |
| cigarette | sigaret | shoelace | schoenveter |
| clothes | kleren | silk | zijde |
| coat | jas | skirt | rok |
| collar | boord | sleeve | mouw |
| comb | kam | soap | zeep |
| cotton | katoen (n) | sock | sok |
| dress | jurk | stick | stok |
| fashion | mode | stocking | kous |
| glasses | bril (sing.) | tie | stropdas |
| glove | handschoen | toothbrush | tandenborstel |
| handkerchief | zakdoek | toothpaste | tandpasta |
| hat | hoed | umbrella | paraplu |
| jeans | spijkerbroek | underwear | onderbroek |
| match | lucifer | waistcoat | vest (n) |
| needle | naald | watch | horloge (n) |
| overcoat | overjas | wool | wol |
The future tense consists of a conjugated form of zullen and an infinitive placed at the end of the sentence. Except for the word order, this is similar to English will + an infinitive. The future tense can also be used to express probability. When it does, wel is added to the sentence.
| ik zal | wij zullen |
| jij, u zult / zal | jullie zullen |
| hij, zij het zal | zij zullen |
Like the modals, either zult or zal can be used with jij and u. Both are considered correct.
De reis zal twee uur duren. The trip will last two hours.
Wij zullen het wel weten. We will probably know it.
The regular present tense can also express a future event with the use of time expressions. This is common in English too.
Morgen gaan zij naar Rotterdam. They're going to Rotterdam tomorrow.
Gaan and an infinitive at the end of the sentence can also be used to express the future. This is equivalent to the English construction "going to + verb."
Ik ga een brief schrijven. I'm going to write a letter.
Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect expresses "will have + past participle" and is as uncommon in Dutch as it is in English. Zullen is still used at the conjugated verb, but the past participle and infinitive of hebben (or zijn) are put at the end of the sentence.
Hij zal de krant gelezen hebben. He will have read the newspaper.
Some verbs in English are expressed in Dutch as two different verbs and vice versa. The most common are:
kennen: to know a person or a place; to be acquainted
with (general familiarity)
weten: to know facts (specific knowledge)
leven: to be alive, to exist, to subsist
wonen: to reside, to dwell
betekenen: to signify
bedoelen: to intend
noemen: to call, name
heten: to be called, be named
lenen aan: to lend to
lenen van: to borrow from
leren: to teach (someone something)
leren (van): to learn (from someone)
When adjectives are placed before nouns, and not after, they add the ending -e. The spelling rules that affect pluralization of nouns and verb conjugations also apply when inflecting adjectives. However, the -e is not added when the adjective occurs before a neuter singular noun without an article (warm water) or a neuter singular noun preceded by een, geen, elk (each), ieder (each), menig (many a), veel (much), welk (which) or zo'n (such a). Adjectives that end in -en, as well as the adjectives linker (left) and rechter (right), do not add -e either.
het grote huis - the large house
de lange muur - the long wall
mijn mooie tuin - my beautiful garden
snelle treinen - fast trains
een oud huis - an old house
vers brood - fresh bread
de houten trap - the wooden staircase
zijn rechter oog - his right eye
When an adjective is placed directly after iets (something), niet (nothing), veel (much), weinig (little), and wat (something), it adds the ending -s.
iets moois - something beautiful
niets nieuws - nothing new
If the noun following the adjective has been mentioned before, it may be omitted. In English, "one" is used in its place, but there is no equivalent word in Dutch. Dutch simply uses the article and adjective, with the -e inflection, if it is required.
Koop je een jurk? Ja, ik neem de blauwe. Are you buying a dress? Yes, I'll take the blue (one.)
| short | kort | high | hoog | light | licht |
| long, tall | lang | wide | wijd | dark | donker |
| loud | luid | fat, thick | vet, dik | terrible | vreselijk |
| quiet | stil | thin | dun | sweet | zoet |
| cute | lief, schattig | narrow | nauw | in love | verliefd |
| perfect | perfekt | weak | zwak | serious | serieus |
| sad | triest, droevig | strong | sterk | clean | proper, net |
| happy | blij, gelukkig | deep | diep | dirty | vuil |
| dear | beste | lazy | lui | shy | verlegen |
| famous | bekend, beroemd | cheap | goedkoop | nervous | nerveus, zenuwachtig |
| different | verschillend, ander | dumb | dom | comfortable | comfortabel |
| easy | gemakkelijk | early | vroeg | worried | bezorgd |
| difficult | moeilijk | near | nabij, dichtbij | right | juist |
| pretty | mooi | nice | mooi, aardig | wrong | verkeerd |
| ugly | lelijk | inexpensive | goedkoop | jealous | jaloers |
| small | klein | expensive | duur | drunk | dronken, zat |
| large | groot | crazy | gek | popular | populair |
| good | goed | far | ver(af) | excellent | excellent |
| bad | slecht | beautiful | mooi | valuable | kostbaar |
| new | nieuw | curious | nieuwsgierig | alone | alleen |
| tired | vermoeid, moe | old | oud | important | belangrijk |
| angry | kwaad, boos | young | jong | busy | bezig, bezet |
| annoying | vervelend, irritant | interesting | interessant | sick | ziek, misselijk |
| wonderful | wonderlijk | fantastic | fantastisch | ready | klaar |
57. Comparative and Superlative
Comparisons of equality use the expression even + adjective + als and it translates to "as + adjective + as." In addition, you can use net zo + adjective + als to mean "as + adjective + as," but it is more emphatic.
dit hotel is even duur als de andere - this hotel is as expensive as the others
But note: zo veel mogelijk - as soon as possible / zo vlug mogelijk - as fast as possible
When comparing two things, the comparative form of the adjective is used. It is formed in Dutch by adding -er to the adjective (or -der if the adjective ends in -r). This is used for all adjectives; there is no "more + adjective" construction as there is for some adjectives in English. Comparative adjectives add the -e ending for the inflection according to the requirements above; however, adjectives with three or more syllables do not. When using comparative adjectives, dan translates as "than."
leuk - nice
leuker - nicer
vriendelijk - friendly
vriendelijker - friendlier
When expressing the highest degree of a quality or characteristic, the superlative form of the adjective is used. Most adjectives add -st (or just -t if the adjective already ends in -s). Since the -st ending does not add a syllable to the adjective, the spelling rules do not apply. All superlatives are inflected like regular adjectives. However, if the superlative adjective is a predicate adjective (follows "to be" and does not precede a noun), then het precedes it and the -e is optional. With the superlative, van translates as "in" or "of." In contrast to English, Dutch does use the superlative to compare two or more things.
leuk - nice
leukst - nicest
het grootste huis - the biggest house
de duurste kleren - the most expensive clothes
Hij is de oudste van de twee. He is the older (literally:
oldest) of the two.
For ease of pronunciation, adjectives ending in -st and -sch do not add -st to form the superlative, but use meest (most) before.
meest juist - most just
meest logisch - most logical
Don't forget the spelling changes when dealing with long and short vowels:
groot, groter, grootst - big, bigger, biggest
laat, later, laatst - late, later, latest
Some of the most common adjectives have irregular forms:
| adjective | good | goed | bad | erg | much | veel | little | weinig |
| comparative | better | beter | worse | erger | more | meer | less | minder |
| superlative | best | best | worst | ergst | most | meest | least | minst |
| golf | golf |
| soccer | voetbal |
| volleyball | volleybal |
| football | rugby, American football |
| basketball | basketbal |
| baseball | honkbal |
| hockey | hockey |
| tennis | tennis |
| bowling | bowlen, bowling |
| sailing | zeilen |
| horseback riding | paardrijden |
| boxing | boksen |
| roller-skating | rolschaatsen |
| ice-skating | schaatsen |
| skiing | skien |
| bicycle racing | wielrennen |
| riding a bicycle | fietsen |
| swimming | zwemmen |
| air | lucht | grass | gras (n) | rock | rots |
| bank | oever | hail | hagel | sand | zand (n) |
| bay | baai | hay | hooi (n) | sea | zee |
| beach | strand (n) | heath | heide | shadow | schaduw |
| bridge | brug | high tide | vloed | sky | lucht |
| bush | struik | hill | heuvel | snow | sneeuw |
| cave | grot | ice | ijs (n) | spring (water) | bron |
| city | stad | island | eiland (n) | star | ster |
| cloud | wolk | lake | meer (n) | storm | storm |
| coast | kust | leaf | blad | stream | beek |
| country | land (n) | light | licht (n) | street | straat |
| country(side) | platteland (n) | lightning | bliksem | sun | zon |
| current | stroom | low tide | eb | thaw | (ont)dooi |
| darkness | duisternis | meadow | weide | thunder | donder |
| desert | woestijn | moon | maan | tree | boom |
| dew | dauw | mountain | berg | valley | vallei |
| dust | stof (n) | mud | modder | view | uitzicht (n) |
| earth | aarde | nature | natuur | water | water (n) |
| farm | boerderij | peninsula | schiereiland (n) | fresh water | zoet water (n) |
| field | veld (n) | plain | vlakte | salt water | zout water (n) |
| flower | bloem | plant | plant | waterfall | waterval |
| foam | schuim (n) | pond | vijver | wave | golf |
| fog | mist | rain | regen | weather | weer (n) |
| forest | bos (n) | rainbow | regenboog | wind | wind |
| frost | vorst | river | rivier | world | wereld |
| Subject | Objects | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ik ('k) | me | mij (me) |
| you (fam.) | jij (je) | you | jou (je) |
| you (form.) | u | you | u |
| he | hij | him | hem ('m) |
| she | zij (ze) | her | haar (ze) |
| it | hij / het | it | het ('t) |
| we | wij (we) | us | ons |
| you (pl.) | jullie | you | jullie (je) |
| you (form.) | u | you | u |
| they | zij (ze) | them | hen (ze) / hun (ze) |
Direct and indirect object pronouns are the same in Dutch, except for "them." Hen is used if it is a direct object, and hun is used if it is an indirect object. Generally, indirect objects are preceded by "to" or "from" in English, and direct objects are not preceded by any prepositions. Additionally, these object pronouns are used in prepositional phrases.
An alternative way of showing possession without using the possessive pronouns is to use van + object pronoun. In fact, this is the only way to show possession with the jullie form, as there is no possessive pronoun for it. This construction corresponds to "of + object" and occurs often in sentences with the verb "to be." Is deze pen van jou? Is this your pen? Die schoenen zijn niet van mij. Those shoes are not mine.
If the noun is not present in the clause, then die or dat + van + object pronoun is used. Mijn huis is klein; dat van hem is erg groot. My house is small; his is very large.
