{"id":5953,"date":"2019-02-25T07:30:48","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T07:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5953"},"modified":"2019-02-23T10:09:11","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T10:09:11","slug":"s-woensdags-how-does-the-dutch-genitive-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/s-woensdags-how-does-the-dutch-genitive-work\/","title":{"rendered":"‘s Woensdags – How does the Dutch genitive work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you say “On Wednesdays, we go shopping in Amsterdam” in Dutch? The answer may not be as straightforward as you’d think. And that is what this post is about!<\/p>\n

Genitief<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Image by rawpixel at Unsplash.com<\/p><\/div>\n

‘s Woensdags winkelen we in Amsterdam.<\/em><\/p>\n

What stands out in the sentence above?<\/p>\n

Perhaps the apostrophe and lowercase\u00a0s<\/em>\u00a0at the BEGINNING of a sentence.\u00a0Woensdags<\/em> is capitalized instead. What’s going on?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0‘s<\/em> comes from the Dutch\u00a0genitief\u00a0<\/em>(genitiv). It is the possessive form, which is usually expressed in English with a\u00a0“‘s” or with “of”: It is my father’s house\/It is the house of my father.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Dutch, it actually works quite similarly:\u00a0Het is mijn vader’s huis\/Het is het huis van mijn vader<\/em>. Both forms are correct, but the second form is definitely more formal. The first is more colloquial.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0‘s<\/em>, also after\u00a0vader<\/em> in the example above, comes from\u00a0des vaders<\/em>\u00a0huis<\/em>, the old genitive form in Dutch. However, it is not used anymore – but there are some remnants, such as the\u00a0s\u00a0<\/em>for modern possessive forms.<\/p>\n

So back to\u00a0‘s Woensdags.\u00a0<\/em>With the logic of the\u00a0genitief<\/em>, you could also read it as des Woensdags.\u00a0<\/em>But because people found these forms too cumbersome, they started shortening them, and\u00a0des Woensdags\u00a0<\/em>became\u00a0‘s Woensdags<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0des\u00a0<\/em>is used here because it is a\u00a0tijdbepaling\u00a0<\/em>(definition of time). So it is also used for other terms:<\/p>\n

‘s zomers\u00a0<\/em>(in summer)<\/p>\n

‘s winters\u00a0<\/em>(in winter)<\/p>\n

‘s avonds\u00a0<\/em>(in the evening)<\/p>\n

‘s ochtends\u00a0<\/em>(in the morning).<\/p>\n

Nowadays, you will increasingly see these forms even without the\u00a0‘s<\/em>. And that is also rated as correct. So there is not that much to worry about. But\u00a0‘s\u00a0<\/em>is still definitely more common.<\/p>\n

Strange exceptions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Strange enough, the exceptions to this rule only make things more confusing.<\/p>\n

For example,\u00a0‘s maandags\u00a0<\/em>is a form, but you will barely ever hear\u00a0‘s dinsdags\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0‘s vrijdags;\u00a0<\/em>‘s lentes\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0‘s herfsts<\/em>. Why?<\/p>\n

Those letters just clash! Try pronouncing those things. The combinations\u00a0sd-\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0svr-\u00a0<\/em>at the beginning of a word, or the terrible ending –rfsts\u00a0<\/em>just hurt. So people leave the whole stuff with the\u00a0‘s<\/em>, and just say\u00a0Op dinsdagen\u00a0<\/em>(on Tuesdays) or\u00a0in de lente\u00a0<\/em>(in spring).<\/p>\n

So what rule can you digest from this? Does it sound halfway doable? Use\u00a0‘s\u00a0<\/em>to determine regular times. Otherwise just use any of the other forms.<\/p>\n

What do you think of this rule? Do you use it yourself? Which one do you prefer,\u00a0‘s maandags, maandags\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0op maandagen<\/em>? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

How do you say “On Wednesdays, we go shopping in Amsterdam” in Dutch? The answer may not be as straightforward as you’d think. And that is what this post is about! Genitief ‘s Woensdags winkelen we in Amsterdam. What stands out in the sentence above? Perhaps the apostrophe and lowercase\u00a0s\u00a0at the BEGINNING of a sentence.\u00a0Woensdags…<\/p>\n

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