Archive by Author
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…
Where Can You Practice Your Dutch in May? Posted by heather on May 1, 2012
How was everyone’s Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day) celebrations? Did you dress in oranje (orange), buy something at the vrijmarkt (free market) or just sat outside enjoying the zonneschijn (sunshine)? Whatever you did, I hope that it was een leuke dag (a fun day). We have now arrived in the month of Mei (May), another good maand…
Strippenkaart versus OV-Chipkaart Posted by heather on Apr 10, 2012
If you travelled in the Netherlands a few years ago, you might have come across a long strip of paper that you had to stamp in a machine to pay for your travel on public transport. This card was known as a strippenkaart. “The strippenkaart, introduced on 1 October 1980 and abolished on 3 November…
Dutch Verb Boot Camp Posted by heather on Apr 5, 2012
Let’s start a Dutch verb boot camp, shall we? Verbs are such an important part of most languages, including Dutch, that it makes sense for us to take a closer look at them. Today we will make a quick overview of Dutch verb tenses and a couple of other important components but before we do…
The Netherlands in April – Things to Do Posted by heather on Apr 3, 2012
It is April in the Netherlands. That time of year when just as spring seems to be finally arriving, nature throws you a curveball in the form of night-time temperatures that are below zero. Luckily, the events calendar for the month more than makes up for the confusion. Here are some of the things happening…