Tag Archives: grammar
Subject Pronouns in Dutch Posted by sarah on Feb 7, 2010
In Dutch there are two forms of subject pronouns: the regular pronoun and the pronoun for emphasis. In English we tend to use our tone of voice to show the emphasis, but in Dutch you can use your tone of voice plus an emphasized subject pronoun to make such a distinction. The regular subject pronouns…
De and Het Words in Dutch: Also Known as Definite Articles Posted by sarah on Feb 1, 2010
One of the more tricky parts of the Dutch language are the definite articles. As a non-native Dutch speaker, this is one of the more difficult things for me to get correct, and if you haven’t noticed already, I still occasionally mess it up every now and again. At least as a non-native Dutch speaker…
How to Turn One Cookie into Two Cookies: Plurals in Dutch Posted by sarah on Jan 14, 2010
Making words plural in Dutch is usually straightforward. I’m a stickler for grammar rules and straightforward makes me a little happier. Here are some rules for turning one cookie into two cookies, or one euro into 100 euros. The rules for making a word plural are this simple: just add -en, -s, or -es to…
Mag ik je iets vragen? Asking questions in Dutch Posted by sarah on Jan 5, 2010
I don’t know about you, but in order to get around my day, I have to ask a lot of questions. Here are some question words to help you get through your day as well. And maybe we’ll all be a little less confused, at least some of the time. Wat? What? Wat ga…
Dutch Formal and Informal Pronouns Posted by sarah on Dec 23, 2009
In Dutch, as in many languages, there is an informal way of addressing people and a formal way of addressing people. I’m going to provide some general rules for when to use them. Bear in mind that these are general rules based on my experiences in Amsterdam, which tends to be a more informal city. …
Dutch Verbs That End in -n Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 21, 2009
There are Dutch verbs that end in -n instead of the usual -en in the infinitive. A high frequency verb that uses -n in the infinitive ending is doen, which means *to do ik doe jij doet u doet hij/zij/het doet wij doen jullie doen zij doen Another verb of this nature is the verb…