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Versterkende bijvoeglijke naamwoorden – pebbles and cats are super! Posted by Sten on Dec 30, 2016
Last week, we looked at trappen van vergelijking (degrees of comparison). They allow you to show that a thing is nice, very nice or the nicest. But there is another way to differentiate between nice things and very nice things – with versterkende bijvoeglijke naamwoorden (“strengthening adjectives”). They do not have degrees of comparison, and so they only…
Trappen van Vergelijking – What’s The Tallest Tower? Posted by Sten on Dec 19, 2016
Big. Bigger. Biggest. Enthusiastic. More enthusiastic. Most enthusiastic. We all know these forms, these trappen van vergelijking (“stairs of comparison” – degrees of comparison). How do they look in Dutch? Find out here. The basics There are three degrees of comparison: positive (full, great, wide), comparative (fuller, greater, wider) and superlative (fullest, greatest, widest). Easy! This is…
Spreekwoorden en Uitdrukkingen (Sayings and Expressions) 4 – Blood! Posted by Sten on Dec 12, 2016
Back again with a new Spreekwoorden en Uitdrukkingen! Today, we will talk about blood. Because there are also sayings and expressions that include blood – they might not mean what you may think they mean, though! For other sayings and expressions in this series, click here. Het bloed kruipt waar het niet gaan kan The blood creeps…
Verhalentijd – Sinterklaas komt! Posted by Sten on Dec 6, 2016
Het is pakjesavond! Tonight, Sinterklaas comes (or has already come) to the house of many children in the Netherlands to deliver gifts. Let’s join him on this great journey through the country! On the German blog, I already feature a short story segment, called Zeit für eine Geschichte (time for a story), and I want to do…
Zondag met Lubach – The Dutch Daily Show Posted by Sten on Nov 29, 2016
Jon Stewart became famous for his satirical view on the news in his Daily Show, which has since been copied many times in different formats. Such shows tend to give real news information by breaking down a topic while at the same time entertaining with jokes about the sometimes ridiculous realities. They also tend to…
Why The Dutch Government No Longer Uses The Terms Allochtoon/Autochtoon Posted by Sten on Nov 25, 2016
Earlier this month, the Dutch Rijksoverheid (government) – or, more specifically, the Raad voor Regeringsbeleid (Council for Government Policy) and the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (Central Office of Statistics) – decided to drop the use of the often used terms allochtoon and autochtoon. What do they mean? And why did the government decide to stop using them? And what do they use now instead?…
Sinterklaas is back! 3 Things You Gotta Know Posted by Sten on Nov 14, 2016
Sinterklaas is weer in het land! On December 5, Sinterklaas brings them presents with his pieten. He arrives around a month before the feest (celebration), actually. Who? What? Why? Just read on – all you need to know about Sinterklaas right here! 1. Sinterklaas is Dutch children’s Christmas Sinterklaas is in many ways like Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas…