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Inversie – Inversion in Dutch Posted by Sten on Aug 20, 2014
Inversie is used frequently in the Dutch language, and in many situations. What is inversie? Inversie, or inversion in English, means that you switch the verb and the subject in a sentence. For example: hij geeft hem een appel becomes hem geeft hij een appel, or hij kan heel goed praten met mij becomes praten kan hij heel goed met mij. Even though this may be tough, it…
The Joke’s on You: How to Make Funnies in Dutch Posted by tiffany on May 9, 2014
They may have a reputation for being conservative and straight-laced, but the Dutch like to laugh just as much as anyone else. Lachen is het beste medicijn, as they say. Here are some jokes you can tickle your Dutch friends’ funny bones with. Let the laughter (or eye rolling) begin! Advocaat tijdens een rechtszitting: ‘Tenslotte…
Stadsinitiatief Rotterdam Posted by heather on Mar 6, 2012
If you live in the city of Rotterdam, then you probably received an envelope through your postbox inviting you to vote in the Stadsinitiatieven (City Initiatives). The annual event invites people to put forward ideas for an initiative that will benefit the locals. The top ideas are than voted for through a city election and…
Meet My Family Posted by heather on Apr 12, 2011
Knowing how to talk about your family in Dutch is not only useful for answering questions when put on the spot but is also handy as a conversation starter. Of course to do that, you need to know some family related words and key phrases. Let me introduce you to my family, as a starting…
Subject Pronouns in Dutch Posted by heather on Apr 5, 2011
When you are just starting out in learning Dutch, one of the most important parts you can master are the subject pronouns. Luckily, they are quite straightforward with just a few points that need extra attention. This post will review the subject pronouns and highlight those attention-needing points. Subject Pronouns Subject pronouns are the words…
Word Order? What Word Order? Posted by heather on Feb 1, 2011
Word order in Dutch is one of the grammar topics that many non-native Dutch speakers notice a difference with. I know it is something that trips me up quite often, especially when I am making longer sentences. Word order isn’t something that I can cover in one post, so do watch out for further posts…
Questions and Question Words Posted by heather on Jan 27, 2011
In Dutch there is a distinction between ‘yes/no’ questions and questions beginning with a question word (also known as interrogative). Both situations require that you invert (reverse position) the subject and the verb. This is because Dutch is a verb second (V2) language. Meaning that, in the main clause, the verb is found in the…