Archive for May, 2012
Dutch Swear Words Posted by heather on May 30, 2012
What is one of the things many people learn first when they learn a new language? Go on, you can say it – we won’t blush. As much as language programs seem to always start with numbers, greetings or even colours, for many people the first word is a swear word. You might have noticed…
What Time Is It? – Telling Time in Dutch Posted by heather on May 24, 2012
Telling the time in Dutch can be a little complicated until you get the hang of it. The real test comes after you have understood how it works and then need to explain that knowledge to someone else. Can you explain to someone how to tell the time in Dutch? If not, you might need…
Dutch Immersion Day Posted by heather on May 23, 2012
On the Transaparent Language blogs we have been talking about language immersion days – a dedicated way of helping you with your goal to learn Dutch by spending the whole day using and doing things in Dutch. What might a Dutch Language Immersion Day look like for you? Here are some ideas: Read the news…
Mata Hari – Part Two Posted by heather on May 16, 2012
Last week I told you about the early years of the Dutch woman known as Mata Hari. Today we will continue where we left off and learn about her later years. On March 13th, 1905 Mata Hari (a name M’greet adopted with her new life in Paris) debuted as an exotic dancer. So admired were…
Mata Hari – Part One Posted by heather on May 10, 2012
Mata Hari was born Margaretha Zelle on August 7th 1876 in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. She was the second child of Adam Zelle and Antje van der Meulen. The only girl in a family of four children, she had thick black hair, dark eyes and an olive complexion. Her family gave her the nickname M’greet. Her…
Dutch Blog Under Construction Posted by heather on May 8, 2012
Hello Everyone! If you are one of those detective-like people who enjoys spotting mistakes in films, picking out the typos in a book or is just an all around eagle eyed person then you may have noticed that the design of the Dutch blog has changed during the last week or so. This is because…
Dutch Verb Boot Camp: The Present Tense Posted by heather on May 3, 2012
Today we will take a look at the present tense in Dutch. The good news is that to form the present tense in Dutch, you just apply the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. Don’t remember how to find the stem? Have a look at our introduction post on Dutch verbs. “But which…