Dutch I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar Waar woont u? Waar woon je? Ik woon in Amerika.

vahr vohnt ew vahr vohn yuh ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah

Where do you live? (formal) Where do you live? (informal) I live in America.
1. BASIC PHRASES
Hoe oud bent u? Hoe oud ben je? Ik ben ... jaar (oud).
hoo owt bent ew hoo owt ben yuh ik ben ... yahr owt
Goedemorgen Goedemiddag Goedenavond
How old are you? (formal) How old are you? (informal) I am ____ years old.
khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh khoo-duh-mih-dahkh khoo-duh-nah-fohnt
Good Morning Good Day Good Evening
Spreek je Engels?
Spreekt u Nederlands? Ik spreek [geen]...
sprayk yuh ehng-uhls
Goedenacht Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doei Tot ziens spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds ik sprayk [khayn]
Do you speak English?
khoo-duh-nahkht hoy / hah-loh / dahk / doo-ee toht zeens Do you speak Dutch? (formal) I [don't] speak...
(informal)
Good Night Hi / Bye Goodbye

Ik spreek niet zo goed... Ik begrijp het [niet.] Ik weet het [niet.]

Tot straks Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft
Tot zo ik sprayk neet zoh khood ik buh-khraip ut neet ik vayt ut [neet]
toht straks ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-
toht zoh I don't speak ... very well. I [don't] understand. I [don't] know.
See you later (in the same bleeft
See you soon
day) Please
Wat kost het? Ik wil graag... Proost!
Dank u wel / Dank je wel Graag gedaan vat kohst ut ik vil khrahk prohst
Hartelijk bedankt How much is it? I'd like... Cheers!
dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuh- khrahkh khuh-dahn
hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt
vehl You're welcome (don't mention
Thank you very much
Thank you it)
Veel plezier! Veel succes! Wees voorzichtig!
fayl pleh-zeer fayl suk-sehs vays fohr-zikh-tikh
Sorry Pardon, wat zei u? Ja / Nee Have fun! Good luck! Be careful!
saw-ree pahr-dohn, vat zay ew yah / nay
I'm sorry / Excuse me Pardon me (didn't understand) Yes / No
Dat is geweldig / vreselijk!
Ik hou van je. Ik hou van jullie.
Hoe gaat het met u? Hoe gaat het? Goed / Heel goed dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / fray-
ik how fahn yuh ik how fahn juh-lee
hoo khaht ut meht ew hoo khaht ut khoot / hayl khoot zuh-likh
I love you. (informal) I love you (all).
How are you? (formal) How are you? (informal) Fine / Very well That is great / terrible!

Het gaat / Slecht Ik ben moe / ziek Ik heb honger / dorst Wat vreemd! Wat jammer! Wat is dit / dat?
uht khaht / slehkht ik ben moo / zeek ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst vaht fraymt vaht yah-mer vut iss dit / dut
So so / Bad I'm tired / sick. I'm hungry / thirsty. How funny / odd! What a pity! What is this / that?

Hoe heet u? Hoe heet je? Ik heet...

hoo hayt ew hoo hayt yuh ik hayt... In the pronunciations, kh denotes a uvular guttural sound. Meneer,
What's your name? (formal) What's your name? (informal) My name is (I'm called)... mevrouw and mejuffrouw are all written with a small letter when they
precede a name. When typing, de Heer is used instead of meneer and
Dhr. is used on envelopes. Mevrouw and mejuffrouw are abbreviated as
Aangenaam (kennis te meneer / mevrouw / Mevr. and Mej. In addition, Mw. can be used as an equivalent of the
Ik ben... maken) mejuffrouw English Ms.
ik ben ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh muh-nayr / muh-frow / muh-
I am... mah-kuh) yuh-frow
Nice to meet you. Mister / Misses / Miss 2. PRONUNCIATION
Dutch
Waar kom je vandaan? English sound
Waar komt u vandaan? Ik kom uit Nederland. letters
vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn
vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn ik kawm owt nay-der-lant ch guttural sound, made at back of mouth
Where are you from?
Where are you from? (formal) I am from the Netherlands. sch s followed by guttural ch sound
(informal)
1 2
g same as ch, guttural sound from back of mouth h hah q kew z zett
w like v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip against
v top teeth i ee r air
r like v, but sometimes closer to f
j either rolled or guttural
sj y as in yes 4. NOUNS AND GENDER
tj sh as in ship
aa ch as in chip All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common (de words) or neuter
ee ah as in father, but longer (het words). It is hard to guess which gender a noun is, so it is best to
ie ay as in hail, but shorter memorize the genders when memorizing vocabulary. However, two-thirds
oo ee as in neat, but shorter of Dutch words are common gender (because the common gender has
oe oh as in boat combined the former feminine and masculine genders.) So it may be
eu oo as in pool, but shorter easier to memorize which nouns are neuter, and then assign common
uu ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded gender to the rest. All diminutives (words ending in -je) and infinitives used
a ew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in English) as nouns, as well as colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that
e ah as in father, but shorter end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are neuter. Most nouns beginning with ge- and
i eh as in bed ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns beginning with ge-, be-, and
o ih as in bit ver-. Common noun endings include: -aar, -ent, -er, -es, -eur, -heid, -ij, -
u aw as in paw, with lips rounded ing, -teit, -tie.
ei / ij ir as in dirt, but very short
aai between the sounds in "light" and "late"
oei combination of aa and ie
5. ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES
ooi combination of oe and ie
ou / au combination of oo and ie
eeuw like ow, as in house common neuter
ieuw combination of ee and oe Singular "the" de het
uw combination of ie and oe Plural "the" de
ui combination of uu and oe Indefinite "a" or
combination of a and uu een
"an"
The consonants s, f, h, b, d, z, l, m, n, and ng are pronounced the same common neuter
way in Dutch as in English. P, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of Singular
air (called aspiration.) Sometimes the g is pronounced like zh in words this deze dit
borrowed from French. One last vowel sound is found in various Dutch that die dat
spellings. It is pronounced like uh, as in along or sofa. For example, this
sound is found in de (the), een (a), aardig (nice), and vriendelijk (kind). Plural
these deze
those die
3. ALPHABET
The definite article is used more in Dutch than in English. It is always used
a ah j yay s ess before the names of the seasons, street names and in an abstract sense.
There are some idioms that should be memorized, however: in het
b bay k kah t tay Nederlands (in Dutch), in de stad (in town), in het zwart (in black), met
de auto (by car), met de tijd (in/with time); op tafel (on the table), in zee
c say l ell u ew (in the sea), op kantoor (at the office), in bad (in the bath), op straat (in
the street).
d day m emm v fay

e ay n enn w vay 6. SUBJECT PRONOUNS

f eff o oh x eeks ik ik I wij (we) vay we

g khay p pay y ee-grek jij (je) you (singular

yay jullie yew-lee you (plural informal)
u informal)
3 4
 ew you (formal) honger / dorst hebben - to be hungry / thirsty
gelijk hebben - to be right
haast hebben - to be in a hurry
hij hay he het hebben over - to talk about
zij (ze) zay she zij (ze) zay they het druk hebben - to be busy
het ut it het koud hebben / warm - to be cold / warm
last hebben van - to be bothered by
Unstressed forms (shortened forms used mostly in the spoken language) nodig hebben - to need
are in parentheses. There are also unstressed forms of ik ('k), hij (ie) and slaap hebben - to be sleepy
het ('t) but these are not written in the standard language. You will see zin hebben in - to feel like
them in informal writing, however (such as on internet forums or
sometimes in film subtitles.)
8. USEFUL WORDS
7. TO BE & TO HAVE
sometimes soms
Present tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
I am ik ben ik ben we are wij zijn vay zayn always altijd
You are jij / u bent yay / ew bent you are jullie zijn yew-lee zayn never nooit
He, she, it is hij, zij, het is hay, zay, ut is they are zij zijn zay zayn often vaak, dikwijls
Present tense of hebben - to have (heh-buhn) usually gewoonlijk
I have ik heb ik hep we have wij hebben vay heh-buhn now nu
You have jij / u hebt yay / ew hept you have jullie hebben yew-lee heh-buhn and en
hij, zij, het hay, zay, ut but maar
He, she, it is they have zij hebben zay heh-buhn
heeft hayft
or of
U heeft rather than u hebt is also possible. very zeer, heel
Past tense of zijn - to be (zayn) here hier
I was ik was ik vas we were wij waren vay vah-ruhn there daar
You were jij / u was yay / ew vas you were jullie waren yew-lee vah-ruhn also ook
He, she, it much veel
hij, zij, het was hay, zay, ut vas they were zij waren zay vah-ruhn
was
another een ander
Past tense of hebben - to have (heh-buhn)
already al
I had ik had ik haht we had wij hadden vay hah-duhn
perhaps misschien
You had jij / u had yay / ew haht you had jullie hadden yew-lee hah-duhn
hay, zay, ut
He, she, it had hij, zij, het had they had zij hadden zay hah-duhn
haht 9. QUESTION WORDS
who wie where waar
You must use the subject pronouns; however, I will leave them out of
what wat where to waar... naartoe
future conjugations since most verbs only have two forms for each
conjugation. why waarom where from waar... vandaan
Expressions with zijn and hebben: when wanneer which welk / welke
Het/dat is jammer - It's/that's a pity how hoe Isn't it?, etc. niet waar?
jarig zijn - to have a birthday
kwijt zijn - to have lost
op het punt staan - to be about to Welk is used before het words, and welke is used before de words and
van plan zijn - to intend plural nouns. Niet waar is a tag question, and is added to the end of
voor elkaar zijn - to be in order statements to make them questions. It can translate several ways into
5 6
 English: isn't it?, doesn't it?, isn't he?, doesn't he?, isn't she?, doesn't 1,000 duizend 1,000th duizendste
she?, aren't we?, don't we?, aren't they?, don't they?, aren't you?, don't
1,001 duizend en een 1,001st duizend en eerste
you?, right?, yes?, etc.
million een miljoen millionth miljoenste
billion een miljard billionth miljardste
10. NUMBERS
0 nul
1 een 1st eerste de helft half een keer once
2 twee 2nd tweede een derde one third twee keer twice
3 drie 3rd drede een kwart one quarter drie keer three times
4 vier 4th vierde In the word for twenty-two, the ë is necessary because there are three of
5 vijf 5th vijfde the same vowels in a row, and the accent mark shows that the third one
needs to be pronounced separately. The use of commas and decimals is
6 zes 6th zesde reversed in Dutch. Also note that I speak American English, so billion
7 zeven 7th zevende means 1,000,000,000 and not the British counterpart.
8 acht 8th achtste
9 negen 9th negende 11. DAYS OF THE WEEK
10 tien 10th tiende Monday maandag
11 elf 11th elfde Tuesday dinsdag
12 twaalf 12th twaalfde Wednesday woensdag
13 dertien 13th dertiende Thursday donderdag
14 veertien 14th veertiende Friday vrijdag
15 vijftien 15th vijftiende
Saturday zaterdag
16 zestien 16th zestiende
Sunday zondag
17 zeventien 17th zeventiende
day dag
18 achttien 18th achttiende
morning ochtend
19 negentien 19th negentiende
afternoon middag
20 twintig 20th twintigste
evening avond
21 eenentwintig 21st eenentwintigste
night nacht
22 tweeëntwintig 22nd tweeëntwintigste
today vandaag
23 drieëntwintig 23rd drieentwintigste
tomorrow morgen
30 dertig 30th dertigste
tonight deze nacht
40 veertig 40th veertigste
yesterday gisteren
50 vijftig 50th vijftigste
last night (de) afgelopen nacht
60 zestig 60th zestigste
day after tomorrow overmorgen
70 zeventig 70th zeventigste
day before yesterday eergisteren
80 tachtig 80th tachtigste
week week
90 negentig 90th negentigste
last week afgelopen week
100 honderd 100th honderdste
weekend weekend
101 honderd en een 101st honderd en eerste
daily dagelijks
110 honderd tien 110th honderd tiende
weekly wekelijks
200 tweehonderd 200th tweehonderdste

7 8
 red rood box vak
12. MONTHS OF THE YEAR black zwart sphere bol
January januari brown bruin cube kubus
February februari gray grijs pyramid piramide
March maart white wit cone kegel
April april green groen cylinder cilinder
May mei silver zilver heart hart
June juni gold goud star ster
July juli beige beige diamond diamant
August augustus light licht crescent halvemaan
September september dark donker
October oktober
November november Licht and donker are added to the colors to mean light and dark:
December december lichtbruin - light brown.
month maand
year jaar 16. TIME
last year het afgelopen jaar What time is it? Hoe laat is het?
monthly maandelijks It's 1:00 Het is een uur.
yearly jaarlijks 2:00 Het is twee uur.
3:30 Het is half vier.
13. SEASONS 5:45 Het is kwart voor zes.
Winter de winter 7:03 Het is drie (minuten) over zeven.
Spring de lente / het voorjaar at 9:30 om half tien
Summer de zomer noon twaalf uur 's middags
Autumn de herfst / het najaar midnight twaalf uur 's nachts / middernacht
In the morning 's ochtends
14. DIRECTIONS During the day 's middags
In the evening 's avonds
Compass/Wind Location/Movement
At night 's nachts
North noord noorden right rechts
South zuid zuiden left links Minuten can be omitted, just as in English.
East oost oosten straight rechtdoor
West west westen 17. WEATHER
How's the weather today? Wat voor weer is het vandaag?
15. COLORS & SHAPES
It's cold Het is koud
orange oranje square vierkant
beautiful Het is mooi
pink roze circle cirkel
hot Het is heet
purple paars triangle driehoek
clear Het is helder
blue blauw rectangle rechthoek
icy Het is ijzig
yellow geel oval ovaal
warm Het is warm
9 10
 windy Het is windig
cloudy Het is bewolkt In the vocabulary lists, (n) after the noun means that the gender is neuter
and the definite article is het (rather than de.)
hazy Het is mistig
muggy Het is drukkend / benauwd
19. TO KNOW PEOPLE AND FACTS
humid Het is vochtig
foggy Het is mistig kennen - to know people weten - to know facts
It's snowing Het sneeuwt Present: ken ken kennen ken-nuh weet vayt weten vay-tuh
It's raining Het regent ken-
Past: kende kenden ken-duh wist vist wisten vist-uh
It's freezing Het vriest duh

18. FAMILY & PETS 20. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS

family familie sister-in-law schoonzuster Most plural nouns are formed by adding either -en or -s. Remember that
the definite article is always de before plural nouns.
parents ouders brother-in-law zwager
1. -en (the n is pronounced softly) is added to most nouns, with a few
mother moeder / mamma godmother meter spelling changes
father vader / papa godfather peetvader boek - boeken book(s)
child / children kind / kinderen boy jongen jas - jassen coat(s)
son zoon girl meisje (n) haar - haren hair(s)
huis - huizen house(s)
daughter dochter child kind
Spelling changes: Words with long vowels (aa, ee, oo, and uu) drop the
brother broeder / broer man, husband man one vowel when another syllable is added. Words with the short vowels (a,
Sister zuster / zus woman, wife vrouw e, i, o and u) double the following consonant to keep the vowels short. The
grandparents grootouder friend (m) vriend letters f and s occur at the end of words or before consonants, while the
letters v and z occur in the middle of words before vowels. (These spelling
grandfather grootvader / opa friend (f) vriendin rules are also used for conjugating verbs, so it's best to memorize them as
grandmother grootmoeder / oma adult volwassene soon as possible.)
grandchildren kleinkinderen relative bloedverwant 2. -s is added to nouns ending in the unstressed syllables -el, -em, -en,
grandson kleinzoon siblings broers en zusters and -er (and -aar(d), -erd, -ier when referring to people), foreign words
and to most nouns ending in an unstressed vowel
granddaughter kleindochter twin tweeling
tafel - tafels table(s)
niece / cousin (f) nicht birth geboorte
jongen - jongens boy(s)
nephew / cousin (m) neef death dood tante - tantes aunt(s)
uncle oom marriage huwelijk (n) bakker - bakkers baker(s)
aunt tante divorce echtscheiding Nouns ending in the vowels -a, -o, and -u add an apostrophe before the s:
stepmother stiefmoeder foto's, paraplu's
stepfather stiefvader dog hond Irregular forms
stepdaughter stiefdochter cat poes 3. Some nouns containing a short vowel do not double the following
consonant in the plural before -en. The plural vowel is then pronounced as
stepson stiefzoon bird vogel long.
stepsister stiefzuster goldfish goudvis bad - baden bath(s)
stepbrother stiefbroeder gerbil woestijnrat dag - dagen day(s)
mother-in-law schoonmoeder hamster hamster spel - spelen game(s) (like the Olympics, smaller games are spellen)
glas - glazen glass(es)
father-in-law schoonvader ferret fret weg - wegen road(s)
daughter-in-law schoondochter horse paard 4. A few neuter nouns take the ending -eren (or -deren if the noun ends in
son-in-law schoonzoon pony pony -n)
11 12
 blad - bladeren leaf (leaves) doe doo doen doon maak mahk maken mah‐kuh
kind - kinderen child(ren)
ei - eieren egg(s) doet doot doen doon maakt mahkt maken mah‐kuh
been - beenderen bone(s) [Note: been - benen leg(s)]
lied - liederen song(s)
doet doot doen doon maakt mahkt maken mah‐kuh
volk - volkeren nation(s), people
5. Nouns ending in -heid have a plural in -heden.
Expressions with doen:
mogelijkheid - mogelijkheden possibility (possibilities)
doen alsof - to act as though
6. Some other common irregular plurals are: doen denken aan - to remind of
stad - steden town(s) dichtdoen - to close
schip - schepen ship(s) opendoen - to open
lid - leden member(s) pijndoen - to hurt, cause pain
koe - koeien cow(s)

21. Possessive Adjectives 23. Work

female (if different from
male
male)
Singular Plural
actor acteur actrice
mijn (m'n) my ons / onze our
jouw (je) your (informal) jullie (je) your (informal) actor (stage) toneelspeler toneelspeelster
uw your (formal) uw your (formal)
author/writer schrijver schrifster
zijn (z'n) his
haar her hun their baker bakker bakster
zijn (z'n) its
bookkeeper boekhouder boekhoudster
Ons is used before singular neuter/het nouns, and onze is used elsewhere (before singular common/de
nouns, and all plural nouns.) Je, the unstressed form of jouw, is commonly used in spoken and written bookseller boekhandelaar boekhandelaarster
Dutch, unless the speaker/writer wants to stress the pronoun. In the plural, jullie is the norm, unless jullie
has already been used in the sentence, then je is used to avoid the redundancy. The other unstressed forms butcher slager
are not commonly written in the standard language, but are commonly spoken and written in informal
communication. cashier kassajongen kassameisje
Like in English, Dutch possessive adjectives are used in front of a noun to show possession: mijn boek
(my book). There are a few ways to express the -'s used in English too. -s can be added to proper names dentist tandarts
and members of the family: Jans boek (John's book) The preposition van can be used to mean of: het
boek van Jan (the book of John = John's book) And in more colloquial speech, the unstressed forms in doctor dokter
parentheses above (agreeing in gender and number) can be used in place of the -s: Jan z'n boek (John's
book)
engineer ingenieur
To form the possessive pronouns, add -e to the stressed forms (except for jullie) and use the correct article.
The only way to show possession with jullie is to use van jou (literally meaning "of you"), although all the hairdresser kapper kapster
others can be used with van too.
de/het mijne, jouwe, uwe, zijne, hare, onze, hunne (mine, yours, yours, his/its, hers, ours, theirs) journalist journalist journaliste

judge rechter
22. To Do and to Make
doen ‐ to do maken ‐ to make lawyer advocaat

13 14
 mail man postbode before voor out (of) uit

mechanic monteur behind achter since sinds, sedert

musician muzikant muzikante between tussen through door

nurse verpleger verpleegster aan, naar(toe) (direction towards

by met, door to
something)
office worker kantoormedewerker kantoormedewerkster
during gedurende, tijdens under onder
officer officier
except for behalve voor until tot, totdat
painter schilder schilderes
for voor with met
photographer fotograaf fotografe
from van, uit, vandaan without zonder
salesperson verkoper verkoopster

secretary secretaris secretaresse

At translates as bij when it's a personal location, such as ik ben bij Jan (I'm at Johns place/I am with John).
Om refers to time: om 12 uur (at noon); and aan refers to an impersonal location: aan tafel (at the table).
singer zanger zangeres
By is met in the sense of ik doe het met de hand (I do it by hand) or ik ga met het vliegtuig (I go by
plane). From is van when it refers to a person, een kado van jou (a gift from you); and uit when it is a
soldier soldaat location, ik kom uit Japan (I come from Japan.) Vandaan indicates from where, as in waar kom jij
vandaan (where are you from?)
surgeon chirurg

teacher leraar lerares 25. Countries and Nationalities

Country Nationality (masc. / fem.)

24. Prepositions Africa Afrika Afrikaan / Afrikaanse

about over in in, over (used with time)

America Amerika Amerikaan / Amerikaanse

above / over boven / over in front of voor

Argentina Argentinië Argentijn / Argentijnse

according to volgens inside / within binnen

Asia Azië Aziaat

after na in spite of ondanks

Austria Oostenrijk Oostenrijker / Oostenrijkse

against tegen near bij

Belgium België Belg / Belgische

along langs next to naast

Brazil Brazili Braziliaan / Braziliaanse

around rond(om) of van

China China Chinees / Chinese

at bij, om, aan on top of / on op / aan

Denmark Denemarken Deen / Deense

because of vanwege opposite tegenover

England Engeland Engelsman / Engelse

15 16
 Europe Europa Europeaan koning ‐ koningin (king ‐ queen) bibliothekaris ‐ bibliothekaresse (male librarian ‐ female
Rus ‐ Russin (Russian man ‐ Russian woman) librarian)
France Frankrijk Fransman / Française leraar ‐ lerares (male teacher ‐ female schrijfer ‐ scrijfster (write ‐ female author)
teacher) verpleeger ‐ verpleegster (nurse ‐ female nurse)
Germany Duitsland Duitser / Duitse prins ‐ prinses (prince ‐ princess)

Great Britain Groot Brittani Brit / Britse

Greece Griekenland Griek / Griekse 26. Negative Sentences

The word niet (not) is used to negate sentences, and is generally placed at the end of the clause. However,
Holland Holland Hollander / Hollandse niet precedes a preposition, an adjective that follows a noun, and the words binnen (inside), buiten
(outside), beneden (downstairs), boven (upstairs) and thuis (at home).
Hungary Hongarije Hongaar / Hongaarse Een is usually not preceded by niet or any phrase ending with niet (ook niet - not either, nog niet - not yet).
Instead, geen, ook geen and nog geen replace the article. Geen is translated by not a, not any or no when
India India Indir / Indische followed by a noun in English. Geen also negates nouns that cannot be counted, such as water, bier and
wijn.
Ireland Ierland Ier / Ierse Jan leest niet. Jan does not read.
Hij werkt volgende week ook niet. He is not working next week either.
Italy Italië Italiaan / Italiaanse Ik wil geen kopje koffie. I don't want a cup of coffee.
Zij hebben nog geen huis gevonden. They have not found a house yet.
Japan Japan Japanner / Japanse

Netherlands Nederland Nederlander / Nederlandse 27. To Come and to Go

komen ‐ to come gaan ‐ to go
Norway Noorwegen Noor / Noorse
kom kawm komen koh‐muh ga gah gaan gahn
Poland Polen Pool / Poolse
komt kawmt komen koh‐muh gaat gaht gaan gahn
Portugal Portugal Portugees / Portugese
komt kawmt komen koh‐muh gaat gaht gaan gahn
Russia Rusland Rus / Russin

Spain Spanje Spanjaard / Spaanse Expressions with komen and gaan:

Hoe komt het dat.. ? How is it that.. ?
Sweden Zweden Zweed / Zweedse Hoe gaat het met u? How are you?
Het gaat goed met me. I am fine.
Switzerland Zwitserland Zwitser / Zwitserse gaan zitten - to sit down, be seated

Turkey Turkije Turk / Turkse

28. To and From Countries and Cities
United States Verenigde Staten Amerikaan / Amerikaanse to naar
from uit
The feminine form of many occupations and nationalities is indicated by one of five endings. For most
nationalities, -e is added, as in Nederlandse (Dutch woman). The endings -in, -es, -esse and -ster are also
used to form female counterparts. -ster is added to verbs while -esse replaces the -is ending of some nouns.
Ik kom uit Nederland. I come from the Netherlands.
boer ‐ boerin (farmer ‐ female student ‐ studente (male student ‐ female student) Zij gaat naar New York. She's going to New York.
farmer/farmer's wife) secretaris ‐ secretaresse (male secretary ‐ female
leeuw ‐ leeuwin (lion ‐ lioness) secretary)
29. Conjugating Regular verbs
17 18
English has three ways of expressing the present tense, such as I run, I am running, I do run. All three of betalen to pay betaal betaalt betalen
these tenses are translated as one tense in Dutch. Most verbs are regular in Dutch in the present tense, and it blijven to stay blijf blijft blijven
is formed by using the verb stem (the infinitive minus the -en), and adding these endings (Note that there is hopen to hope hoop hoopt hopen
no ending for the first person singular form, and all the plural forms are identical to the infinitive): raden to guess raad raadt raden
drinken ‐ to geloven to believe geloof gelooft geloven
Verb endings
drink schrijven to write schrijf schrijft schrijven
kiezen to choose kies kiest kiezen
‐ ‐en drink drinken haten to hate haat haat haten
‐t ‐en drinkt drinken leven to live leef leeft leven
‐t ‐en drinkt drinken lezen to read lees leest lezen
praten to talk praat praat praten
There is, however, an alternative present tense to express an action that is currently happening: use zijn rijden to ride rijd rijdt rijden
aan het with the infinitive. Ik ben aan het koken would translate as I am cooking (right now.) wassen to wash was wast wassen
The perfect tense in English of expressions of "for," "since" and "how long?" are rendered by the present gaan to go ga gaat gaan
tense in Dutch: staan to stand sta staat staan
Ik woon hier al vijf jaar. I have lived here for five years. slaan to hit sla slaat slaan
Hij werkt sinds april met zijn broer. He has been working with his brother since April.
Graag is an adverb used with verbs to express "to like to.." instead of using the verb houden van, which One verb that does not follow the spelling rule is komen. The singular forms are all written and
literally means to like or love. pronounced with the short o, while the plural forms are written and pronounced with the long o: kom, komt
To form questions, simply invert the subject and verb. For the second person singular form (jij), the -t and komen. (According to the spelling rules, the singular forms should be the long o, but they are not.)
ending of the conjugated verb is dropped. Dutch does not have an equivalent of the English "do" in There are five verbs whose ending is only -n: gaan (to go), staan (to stand), slaan (to hit), doen (to do) and
questions, so Woon jij in Rotterdam? means Do you live in Rotterdam? although it literally is Live you in zien (to see); the first three change according to the spelling rules.
Rotterdam?
If a stem ends in -t, you do not add another -t for the second and third person singular forms. zitten - to sit;
hij zit - he sits
30. Irregularities in Regular verbs Verb stems that end in -oud and -ijd drop the -d in the first person singular and in question forms of the
second person singular form. The -d can be written, but it is not pronounced. rijden - to ride; ik rij(d) - I
When you add the present tense endings, you must observe the regular spelling rules in Dutch. Words with ride; rij(d) jij? - do you ride?
long vowels (aa, ee, oo, and uu) drop the one vowel when another syllable is added. Words with the short
vowels (a, e, i, o and u) double the following consonant to keep the vowels short. The letters f and s occur
at the end of words or before consonants, while the letters v and z occur in the middle of words before
vowels. Notice how the infinitive is still identical to the plural conjugations for wij, jullie, and zij, and the 31. Modal Verbs
stem is identical to the ik form. In Dutch, there are four modals: kunnen - to be able to, can; moeten - to have to, must; mogen - to be
allowed to, may; and willen - to want to. Modals can be used with other infinitives without the use of
Infinitive Stem & ik form jij, hij, etc. wij, jullie, etc.
prepositions.

kunnen moeten mogen willen

ik kan moet mag wil

jij / u kan / kunt moet mag wil / wilt
hij / zij / het kan moet mag wil
wij kunnen moeten mogen willen
jullie kunnen moeten mogen willen
zij kunnen moeten mogen willen

The -t of kunt and wilt are dropped in inversions with jij, but not with moet. Kan and kunt are used
interchangeably for the second person singular form of kunnen, so jij kan and jij kunt as well as jij wil
and jij wilt are both possible. The main difference is that kan and wil are considered slightly more informal
with jij than kunt or wilt.

19 20
Common verbs, such as doen and gaan, can be omitted in Dutch after modals, but not in the English verkleden change clothes
translation. In addition, impersonal constructions with het/dat + modals are used. verontschuldigen excuse
Dat kan. That's possible/can be done. verschuilen oneself/apologize
Het moet. It must be done. vervelen hide (oneself)
When modals are used with other verbs, the other verb is in the infinitive and placed at the end of the voelen to be bored
clause or sentence. wassen feel
wash (oneself)

32. Reflexive Verbs Emphatic Forms

Reflexive verbs express an action that reciprocates back to the subject. In other words, whoever is speaking mezelf onszelf
is doing an action to himself. Examples in English would be: I wash myself, he hurts himself, we hate
jezelf jezelf
ourselves. The reflexive pronouns always follow the subject and verb.
zichzelf zichzelf
Reflexive Pronouns
me ons The emphatic forms of the reflexive pronouns can only be used with the verbs that can be reflexive or used
je / u je with other direct objects, and never with verbs that are always reflexive.
zich zich Elkaar is used when there is a reciprocal meaning of "each other" in English.

The reflexive pronoun u is often replaced by zich to avoid the double occurrence of u.
Verbs that are always reflexive: 33. Verbs followed by Prepositions
ask oneself afhangen van depend on
zich afvragen
find oneself
zich bevinden bang zijn voor be afraid of
get annoyed by
zich ergeren
behave
zich gedragen deelnemen aan take part in
be embarrassed
zich generen
hurry
zich haasten denken aan think of/about
remember
zich herinneren
recover
zich herstellen feliciteren met congratulate on
be ashamed of
zich schamen voor
be mistaken about
zich vergissen in gebrek hebben aan be short of
look forward to
zich verheugen op
oversleep
zich verslapen herinneren aan remind
imagine, introduce
zich voorstellen
oneself
houden van like, love (things or people)

huilen om cry at/about

Verbs that can be reflexive or used with other direct objects
aankleden get dressed kijken naar look at/watch
amuseren enjoy oneself
bewegen move lachen om laugh at
ergeren make angry
opwinden get excited letten op pay attention to
scheren shave (oneself)
snijden cut oneself lijden aan suffer from
uitkleden undress (oneself)
verbazen be amazed luisteren naar listen to
verdedigen defend oneself

21 22
 praten/spreken met talk to This tense is used more often than the simple past, especially in conversation, and is equivalent to I have
asked or I asked. Regular verbs use a form of hebben or zijn and a past participle. Past participles are
reageren op react to made by adding ge- to the beginning of the verb stem and -t or -d to the end. Verb stems are the
infinitives minus the -en, with the appropriate spelling changes. The stems are identical to the first person
singular present tense form.
rekenen op rely on
-t is added to stems ending in t, k, f, s, ch, and p (note that if the stem ends in -t already, you do not double
sterven aan die of the consonant), while -d is added to all other stems, except those already ending in -d. (If a stem ends in -f
or -s, but the infinitive contained -v or -z, then still add a -d)
trek/zin hebben in want Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add ge- in this tense. Verbs with separable prefixes add the ge after
the prefix and before the stem (afgemaakt).
trouwen met marry Verb Stem Past Participle

twijfelen aan doubt hopen to hope hoop gehoopt

maken to make maak gemaakt
vragen om ask for blaffen to bark blaf geblaft
missen to miss mis gemist
weten van know about dromen to dream droom gedroomd
bellen to ring bel gebeld
zeggen tegen say to loven to praise loof geloofd
vrezen to be afraid vrees gevreesd
zorgen voor care for
praten to talk praat gepraat
koken to cook kook gekookt
blaffen to bark blaf geblaft
34. Separable Prefixes kuchen to cough kuch gekucht
bouwen to build bouw gebouwd
aan‐ af‐ binnen‐ in‐ na‐ onder‐ over‐ toe‐ voor‐
horen to hear hoor gehoord
branden to burn brand gebrand
achter‐ bij‐ door‐ mee‐ om‐ op‐ tegen‐ uit‐ ‐weg
bedoelen to mean bedoel bedoeld
bepraten to discuss bepraat bepraat
When verbs with separable prefixes are conjugated, the prefixes go to the end of the clause or sentence. For geloven to believe geloof geloofd
example, uitgaan (to go out) and weggaan (to go away): verhuizen to move house verhuis verhuisd
Gaan jullie niet meer uit? Don't you go out anymore? afmaken to finish af...maak afgemaakt
Hij gaat vandaag weg. He's going away today.
Hebben vs. Zijn
Some verbs of motion can take either hebben or zijn depending on whether it is the action that is stressed
35. Inseparable Prefixes (hebben) or the destination/direction (zijn.) Verbs taking zijn are generally intransitive (they do not take
be‐ ont‐ ge‐ direct objects) and denote a change in motion/position or change in state/condition. Most verbs derived
from zijn verbs also take zijn in the perfect tense.
her‐ ver‐ er‐ Modals
The past participles of the modals (kunnen: gekund; moeten: gemoeten; mogen: gemoogd, willen: gewild)
are only used when the modal is used independently of another verb.
Ik heb het gemoeten. I had to (do it).
These prefixes always remain attached to their infinitives. The inseparable prefixes are unstressed If the perfect tense of a modal is used with another verb, then the past participle of the modal is replaced by
syllables, as compared to the separable prefixes, of which most can stand alone as prepositions. -ann, - its infinitive. This double infinitive construction (infinitive of modal + other infinitive) is always placed at
onder, -over, -door, -voor and -om can also be inseparable prefixes if they are unstressed. the end of the clause or sentence.
Ik heb gisteren kunnen komen. I was able to come yesterday.

36. Present Perfect or Past Indefinite Tense

37. Irregular Past Participles
23 24
 Infinitive Past Participle Infinitive Past Participle lie liggen gelegen look for zoeken gezocht

begin beginnen begonnen walk lopen gelopen

understand begrijpen begrepen must, have to moeten gemoeten 38. Zijn Verbs
A few common verbs take zijn instead of hebben in the present perfect tense:
offer bieden geboden may mogen gemogen blijven to stay stoppen/ophouden to stop
blijken to appear/seem verdwijnen to disappear
remain blijven gebleven call roepen geroepen
gaan to go verschijnen to appear
gebeuren to happen worden to become
break breken gebroken write schrijven geschreven
komen to come zijn to be

bring brengen gebracht sleep slapen geslapen

think denken gedacht hit slaan geslagen 39. Food and Meals
breakfast ontbijt (n) bread brood (n)
do doen gedaan stand staan gestaan

lunch middagmaal (n), lunch pepper peper

drink drinken gedronken speak spreken gesproken

dinner avondeten (n) salt zout (n)

eat eten gegeten die sterven gestorven

glass glas (n) ice ijs

go gaan gegaan forget vergeten vergeten

fork vork vinegar azijn

give geven gegeven lose verliezen verloren

spoon lepel oil olie

have hebben gehad find vinden gevonden

knife mes (n) sugar suiker

help helpen geholpen ask vragen gevraagd

napkin servet (n) butter boter

be called heten geheten know weten geweten

plate bord (n) table tafel

hold houden gehouden show wijzen gewezen

silverware bestek (n) dish schotel

look kijken gekeken want willen gewild

tea thee juice sap

come komen gekomen become worden geworden

steak biefstuk water water

buy kopen gekocht say zeggen gezegd

cake taart / cake / koek wine wijn

get krijgen gekregen see zien gezien

ice cream roomijs (n) beer bier (n)

can, be able to kunnen gekund be zijn geweest

coffee koffie beverage drank

let laten gelaten sing zingen gezongen

pie vlaai milk melk

read lezen gelezen sit zitten gezeten

mustard mosterd egg ei (n)

25 26
 rice rijst honey honing carrot wortel, peen turkey kalkoen

jam jam snack snack, tussendoortje potato aardappel fish vis

soup soep cheese kaas

salad salade cookies koekje The National Anthem of the Netherlands: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
By Marnix van St. Aldegonde (2 stanzas out of 15)
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe ben ik van Duitsen bloed
den vaderland getrouwe blijf ik tot in den dood.
40. Fruits, Vegetables and Meats Een Prinse van Oranje ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd.
fruit vrucht cabbage kool
Mijn schild ende betrouwen zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
pineapple ananas pumpkin pompoen
op U zo wil ik bouwen, verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven, uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven die mij mijn hert doorwondt.
apple appel olive olijf
William of Nassau am I, of Dutch blood;
apricot abrikoos radish radijs
True to the fatherland I remain until death.
Prince of Orange am I, free and fearless.
To the King of Spain I have always given honour.
banana banaan lettuce sla
You, my God and Lord, are my shield, on You I rely.
On You I will build; never leave me,
pear peer tomato tomaat So that I may remain pious, your servant at all moments,
Dispelling the tyranny that wounds my heart.
strawberry aardbei onion ui
The National Anthem of Belgium: De Brabançonne
By Alexandre Dechet, 1830
raspberry framboos meat vlees (n)
O dierbaar België
O heilig land der vaad'ren
cherry kers veal kalfsvlees (n)
Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd.
Aanvaard ons hart en het bloed van onze adren,
lime limoen lamb lam (n) Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd.
Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken;
lemon citroen beef rundvlees (n) Wees immer u zelf en ongeknecht,
Het woord getrouw, dat ge onbevreesd moogt spreken:
orange sinaasappel ham ham Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht. (x3)
O beloved Belgium,
peach perzik pork varkensvlees (n) sacred land of our fathers,
Our heart and soul are dedicated to you.
grapes druif bacon bacon Our strength and the blood of our veins we offer,
Be our goal, in work and battle.
vegetables groente sausage worst Prosper, O country, in unbreakable unity,
Always be yourself and free.
cauliflower bloemkool poultry pluimvee (n) Trust in the word that, undaunted, you can speak:
For King, for Freedom and for Law. (x3)
bean boon duck eend
Dutch III Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
pea erwt goose gans
41. Word Order
cucumber komkommer chicken kip
Dutch word order requires Time - Manner - Place. English generally uses place before time, but Dutch
cannot.
27 28
Hij gaat morgen met de trein naar Londen. He's going to London tomorrow by train. (Literally: he's after na(dat) without zonder dat
going tomorrow by train to London.) since sinds as far as zover
The verb must always be in the second position in a Dutch sentence. This not does not mean that it must
always be the second word, however. (Inversion of subject and verb to form questions is an exception.)
In de winter gaat hij met de trein naar Londen. In the winter he's going to London by train. (Literally:
In the winter goes he by train to London.) 44. Holiday Phrases
Separable prefixes, past participles and infinitive always go to the end of the clause or sentence. The Gelukkig nieuwjaar
double infinitive construction always goes to the end of the clause or sentence as well. Happy New Year
Zalig pasen / Vrolijk Pasen
Happy Easter
Zalig kerstfeest
Merry Christmas
Happy Birthday Hartelijk gefeliciteerd (met je verjaardag)
42. Commands
The stem with the appropriate spelling changes is most commonly used as the command form. When being Zalig is the word traditionally used by Catholics (the Pope uses it) when saying something in Dutch at
polite, the u form is used (with u following the verb.) If a verb has a separable prefix, it is sent to the end of Christmas. Protestants say Prettige kerstdagen (nice), Gelukkig kerstfeest (happy), or Vrolijk kerstfeest
the clause. The "let's" form plus a verb is rendered in Dutch by laten we + infinitive. When the command is (cheerful); a lot of variation is possible.
general and no one in particular is being addressed, the infinitive is used, especially on signs.
Kijk! Look!
Laat mij het doen! Let me do it! 45. Blijven and Laten
Blijft u zitten. Please remain seated.
Kijk uit! Look out! Blijven (to remain) can be used with an infinitive to express a continuous or repeated action. Blijven acts
Laten we gaan. Let's go. like a modal verb in the sentence; blijven is conjugated and the other verb remains in the infinitive and
Niet roken. No smoking. goes to the end of the sentence.
Trekken / Duwen. Pull / Push. De kat blijft naar de muis kijken. The cat keeps looking at the mouse.
Note that zijn has an irregular imperative form: wees (and the polite form: weest u) Blijft u maar zitten! Please remain seated!
Laten (to let, leave) can also behave like a modal verb when used with another verb. It corresponds to "to
let" or "to have something done (by someone else)." In the perfect tense, laten also behaves like a modal
43. Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions because the infinitive is used instead of the past participle when it occurs with another verb.
Coordinating conjunctions join two sentences together. Word order is not affected by coordinating Laten we naar huis gaan. Let's go home.
conjunctions. Examples are en (and), dus (so, thus), maar (but), of (or) and want (for, because). Zij laat haar kamer verven. She's having her room painted.
Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect an independent and dependent clause together, and they do Hij heeft zijn auto laten wassen. He's had his car washed.
affect word order. An independent (or main) clause contains a subject and verb and can stand alone as its
own sentence. A dependent (or subordinate) clause also contains a subject and verb, but is introduced with
a subordinating conjunction and cannot stand alone as its own sentence. 46. Places
Mijn zoon was ziek, toen hij klein was. My son was sick when he was little. airport luchthaven lane (town) steeg
Ik weet dat jij mij leuk vindt. I know that you like me.
When a subordinating conjunction introduces a clause, the next clause must begin with a verb. bakery bakkerij library bibliotheek
Hoewel hij jong is, is hij erg rijk. Although he is young, he is very rich.
Zodra ik klaar ben, kom ik even langs. As soon as I'm ready, I'll come over. bank bank market markt

Subordinating Conjunctions
barn schuur monument gedenkteken (n)
if/when als unless tenzij
as if alsof while terwijl barracks kazerne museum museum
except that behalve dat when (in past) toen
that dat until tot(dat) bridge brug palace paleis
although hoewel when wanneer
to the extent that inzover(re) dat before voor(dat) bookstore boekwinkel path pad (n)
now nu(dat) just zoals
whether of so that zodat building gebouw (n) pavement trottoir (n)
because omdat as long as zolang

29 30
 castle slot (n) pharmacy apotheek motorcycle motorfiets

cathedral kathedraal police station politiebureau (n) automobile automobiel

cemetery kerkhof (n) port haven streetcar tram

church kerk prison gevangenis moped bromfiets

cinema bioscoop restaurant restaurant bicycle fiets

consulate consulaat (n) road (highway) landweg car auto(mobiel)

corner straathoek school school

drugstore apotheek square plein (n) 48. Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense in Dutch corresponds to the simple past tense in English. It is not a compound tense
embassy ambassade stadium stadium like the perfect tense, and some verbs have vowel changes, as in English. Generally, the simple past tense
is indicated in English by adding -ed to the verb (for regular verbs, at least.) This tense is used for actions
factory fabriek store winkel that happened in the past and that are completely done. To form the past tense, add -te (or -de) to the stem
for the singular persons and -ten (or -den) to the stem for the plural persons. If the verb stem ends in p, t, k,
farm boerderij street straat
f, s, or ch, add -te or -ten; for all other endings, add -de or -den. Verbs that have either v or z as the final
consonant of the stem change them to f or s first and then add -de and -den.
fountain fontein suburb voorstad
ik, jij, u, hij, zij wij, jullie, zij
garage garage theater theater / schouwburg
wonen ‐ to live woonde woonden
hospital ziekenhuis (n) tower toren
geloven ‐ to believe geloofde geloofden
hotel hotel town stad
praten ‐ to talk praatte praatten

house huis (n) town hall stadhuis (n) spelen ‐ to play speelde speelden

hut hut university universiteit trouwen ‐ to marry trouwde trouwden

inn herberg village dorp werken ‐ to work werkte werkten

fietsen ‐ to cycle fietste fietsten

47. Transportation
bus (auto)bus
49. Irregular Stems in Simple Past Tense
train trein For some verbs, the internal vowel of the stem changes in the past tense. The stem with the changed vowel
then acts as the past tense for all persons of the singular, while the plural adds -en to the changed stem. In
airplane vliegtuig addition, there are some irregular verbs that change more than the vowel, but still add nothing for the
singular and -en for the plural.
ship schip
ik, jij, u, hij, zij wij, jullie, zij
boat boot

31 32
 zijn ‐ to be was waren box kist hearth haard stairs trap

hebben ‐ to have had hadden broom bezem house huis (n) floor (of building) verdieping

gaan ‐ to go ging gingen bucket emmer iron (flat) strijkijzer (n) stove kachel

weten ‐ to know wist wisten candle kaars kerosene petroleum table tafel

denken ‐ to think dacht dachten

carpet tapijt (n) key sleutel tap (faucet) kraan
blijven ‐ to stay bleef bleven
ceiling plafond (n) kitchen keuken television televisie
drinken ‐ to drink dronk dronken
chair stoel ladder ladder toilet (WC) wc / toilet
eten ‐ to eat at aten
chimney schoorsteen lamp lamp towel handdoek
breken ‐ to break brak braken
closet kast lock slot (n) vacuum cleaner stofzuiger
bijten ‐ to bite beet beten
computer computer mattress matras vase vaas
gieten ‐ to pour goot goten
corner hoek mirror spiegel wall (house) muur

cupboard kast oven oven wall (room) wand

50. House and Furniture
curtain gordijn (n) pantry provisiekast window raam (n)

alarm clock wekker desk bureau painting schilderij (n)

cushion kussen (n) paper basket prullenmand yard (achter)tuin

armchair leunstoel door deur pillow kussen (n)

ashtray asbak (n) drawer lade pipe (water) pijpleiding 51. Staan, liggen and zitten
These verbs are all translated as "to be" in certain cases. When an object is in an upright position, staan is
balcony balkon (n) dresser ladenkast radio radio
used. When an object is lying down, liggen is used. When an object is inside of something else, zitten is
used.
basement kelder fire vuur (n) refrigerator koelkast
De auto staat voor het huis. The car is in front of the house.
De krant ligt op de grond. The newspaper is on the floor.
basket korf flame vlam roof dak (n)
De pen zit in de tas. The pen is in the bag.
bathroom badkamer (n) flat (apartment) apartement room kamer

52. Clothing & accessories

bed bed (n) floor vloer sheet laken (n)

bedroom slaapkamer flower bloem shovel schop belt riem pants (trousers) broek

(door)bell (deur)bel furniture meubelen (pl.) shower douche boot laars pin speld

blanket deken garden tuin smoke rook braces bretels (pl.) pipe pijp

blinds rolgordijn (n) ground floor benedenverdieping sofa (zit)bank brush borstel pocket zak

33 34
 button knoop shirt overhemd (n) Like the modals, either zult or zal can be used with jij and u. Both are considered correct.

cigar sigaar shoe schoen

De reis zal twee uur duren. The trip will last two hours.
Wij zullen het wel weten. We will probably know it.
cigarette sigaret shoelace schoenveter
The regular present tense can also express a future event with the use of time expressions. This is common
in English too.
clothes kleren silk zijde
Morgen gaan zij naar Rotterdam. They're going to Rotterdam tomorrow.
coat jas skirt rok Gaan and an infinitive at the end of the sentence can also be used to express the future. This is equivalent
to the English construction "going to + verb."
collar boord sleeve mouw Ik ga een brief schrijven. I'm going to write a letter.
Future Perfect Tense
comb kam soap zeep
The future perfect expresses "will have + past participle" and is as uncommon in Dutch as it is in English.
cotton katoen (n) sock sok
Zullen is still used at the conjugated verb, but the past participle and infinitive of hebben (or zijn) are put at
the end of the sentence.
dress jurk stick stok Hij zal de krant gelezen hebben. He will have read the newspaper.

fashion mode stocking kous

54. Verb Meanings
glasses bril (sing.) tie stropdas Some verbs in English are expressed in Dutch as two different verbs and vice versa. The most common
are:
glove handschoen toothbrush tandenborstel kennen: to know a person or a place; to be acquainted with (general familiarity)
weten: to know facts (specific knowledge)
handkerchief zakdoek toothpaste tandpasta
leven: to be alive, to exist, to subsist
wonen: to reside, to dwell
hat hoed umbrella paraplu
betekenen: to signify
bedoelen: to intend
jeans spijkerbroek underwear onderbroek
noemen: to call, name
match lucifer waistcoat vest (n) heten: to be called, be named
lenen aan: to lend to
needle naald watch horloge (n) lenen van: to borrow from
leren: to teach (someone something)
overcoat overjas wool wol leren (van): to learn (from someone)

55. Inflections of Adjectives

53. Future Tense
When adjectives are placed before nouns, and not after, they add the ending -e. The spelling rules that
The future tense consists of a conjugated form of zullen and an infinitive placed at the end of the affect pluralization of nouns and verb conjugations also apply when inflecting adjectives. However, the -e
sentence. Except for the word order, this is similar to English will + an infinitive. The future tense can also is not added when the adjective occurs before a neuter singular noun without an article (warm water) or a
be used to express probability. When it does, wel is added to the sentence. neuter singular noun preceded by een, geen, elk (each), ieder (each), menig (many a), veel (much), welk
ik zal wij zullen (which) or zo'n (such a). Adjectives that end in -en, as well as the adjectives linker (left) and rechter
(right), do not add -e either.
jij, u zult / zal jullie zullen het grote huis - the large house
de lange muur - the long wall
hij, zij het zal zij zullen mijn mooie tuin - my beautiful garden
snelle treinen - fast trains

35 36
een oud huis - an old house large groot crazy gek popular populair
vers brood - fresh bread
de houten trap - the wooden staircase good goed far ver(af) excellent excellent
zijn rechter oog - his right eye
When an adjective is placed directly after iets (something), niet (nothing), veel (much), weinig (little), and bad slecht beautiful mooi valuable kostbaar
wat (something), it adds the ending -s.
iets moois - something beautiful new nieuw curious nieuwsgierig alone alleen
niets nieuws - nothing new
If the noun following the adjective has been mentioned before, it may be omitted. In English, "one" is used tired vermoeid, moe old oud important belangrijk
in its place, but there is no equivalent word in Dutch. Dutch simply uses the article and adjective, with the
-e inflection, if it is required. angry kwaad, boos young jong busy bezig, bezet
Koop je een jurk? Ja, ik neem de blauwe. Are you buying a dress? Yes, I'll take the blue (one.)
annoying vervelend, irritant interesting interessant sick ziek, misselijk

wonderful wonderlijk fantastic fantastisch ready klaar

56. Adjectives

short kort high hoog light licht

57. Comparative and Superlative
long, tall lang wide wijd dark donker
Comparisons of equality use the expression even + adjective + als and it translates to "as + adjective +
loud luid fat, thick vet, dik terrible vreselijk
as." In addition, you can use net zo + adjective + als to mean "as + adjective + as," but it is more
emphatic.
quiet stil thin dun sweet zoet dit hotel is even duur als de andere - this hotel is as expensive as the others
But note: zo veel mogelijk - as soon as possible / zo vlug mogelijk - as fast as possible
cute lief, schattig narrow nauw in love verliefd When comparing two things, the comparative form of the adjective is used. It is formed in Dutch by
adding -er to the adjective (or -der if the adjective ends in -r). This is used for all adjectives; there is no
perfect perfekt weak zwak serious serieus "more + adjective" construction as there is for some adjectives in English. Comparative adjectives add the
-e ending for the inflection according to the requirements above; however, adjectives with three or more
sad triest, droevig strong sterk clean proper, net syllables do not. When using comparative adjectives, dan translates as "than."
leuk - nice
happy blij, gelukkig deep diep dirty vuil leuker - nicer
vriendelijk - friendly
dear beste lazy lui shy verlegen vriendelijker - friendlier
When expressing the highest degree of a quality or characteristic, the superlative form of the adjective is
famous bekend, beroemd cheap goedkoop nervous nerveus, zenuwachtig used. Most adjectives add -st (or just -t if the adjective already ends in -s). Since the -st ending does not
add a syllable to the adjective, the spelling rules do not apply. All superlatives are inflected like regular
different verschillend, ander dumb dom comfortable comfortabel adjectives. However, if the superlative adjective is a predicate adjective (follows "to be" and does not
precede a noun), then het precedes it and the -e is optional. With the superlative, van translates as "in" or
easy gemakkelijk early vroeg worried bezorgd "of." In contrast to English, Dutch does use the superlative to compare two or more things.
leuk - nice
difficult moeilijk near nabij, dichtbij right juist leukst - nicest
het grootste huis - the biggest house
pretty mooi nice mooi, aardig wrong verkeerd de duurste kleren - the most expensive clothes
Hij is de oudste van de twee. He is the older (literally: oldest) of the two.
ugly lelijk inexpensive goedkoop jealous jaloers For ease of pronunciation, adjectives ending in -st and -sch do not add -st to form the superlative, but use
meest (most) before.
small klein expensive duur drunk dronken, zat meest juist - most just
meest logisch - most logical
Don't forget the spelling changes when dealing with long and short vowels:
37 38
 groot, groter, grootst - big, bigger, biggest 59. Nature
laat, later, laatst - late, later, latest
Some of the most common adjectives have irregular forms:
air lucht grass gras (n) rock rots
adjective good goed bad erg much veel little weinig
bank oever hail hagel sand zand (n)
comparative better beter worse erger more meer less minder
bay baai hay hooi (n) sea zee
superlative best best worst ergst most meest least minst

beach strand (n) heath heide shadow schaduw

58. Sports bridge brug high tide vloed sky lucht

golf golf
bush struik hill heuvel snow sneeuw

soccer voetbal
cave grot ice ijs (n) spring (water) bron

volleyball volleybal
city stad island eiland (n) star ster

football rugby, American football

cloud wolk lake meer (n) storm storm

basketball basketbal
coast kust leaf blad stream beek

baseball honkbal
country land (n) light licht (n) street straat

hockey hockey
country(side) platteland (n) lightning bliksem sun zon

tennis tennis
current stroom low tide eb thaw (ont)dooi

bowling bowlen, bowling

darkness duisternis meadow weide thunder donder

sailing zeilen
desert woestijn moon maan tree boom

horseback riding paardrijden

dew dauw mountain berg valley vallei

boxing boksen
dust stof (n) mud modder view uitzicht (n)

roller‐skating rolschaatsen
earth aarde nature natuur water water (n)

ice‐skating schaatsen
farm boerderij peninsula schiereiland (n) fresh water zoet water (n)

skiing skien
field veld (n) plain vlakte salt water zout water (n)

bicycle racing wielrennen

flower bloem plant plant waterfall waterval

riding a bicycle fietsen

foam schuim (n) pond vijver wave golf

swimming zwemmen
fog mist rain regen weather weer (n)

39 40
 forest bos (n) rainbow regenboog wind wind arm arm flesh vlees (n) neck hals / nek

frost vorst river rivier world wereld back rug foot voet nerve zenuw

beard baard forehead voorhoofd (n) pain pijn

60. Object Pronouns belly buik gum tandvlees (n) nose neus
Subject Objects
bladder blaas hair haar (n) palm handpalm
I ik ('k) me mij (me)
blood bloed (n) hand hand rib rib
you (fam.) jij (je) you jou (je)
body lichaam (n) head hoofd (n) shin scheen
you (form.) u you u
bone bot / been (n) headache hoofdpijn shoulder schouder
he hij him hem ('m)
brain hersenen (pl.) health gezondheid skeleton skelet / geraamte
she zij (ze) her haar (ze)
breath adem heart hart (n) skin huid
it hij / het it het ('t)
calf kuit heel hiel skull schedel
we wij (we) us ons
cheek wang hip heup sole voetzool
you (pl.) jullie you jullie (je)
chest borst intestines ingewanden (pl.) spine ruggengraat
you (form.) u you u
chin kin jaw kaak stomach maag
they zij (ze) them hen (ze) / hun (ze)
cold verkoudheid kidney nier tear traan

cough hoest knee knie thigh dij

Direct and indirect object pronouns are the same in Dutch, except for "them." Hen is used if it is a direct
object, and hun is used if it is an indirect object. Generally, indirect objects are preceded by "to" or "from" ear oor (n) leg been (n) throat keel
in English, and direct objects are not preceded by any prepositions. Additionally, these object pronouns are
used in prepositional phrases.
elbow elleboog lip lip thumb duim
An alternative way of showing possession without using the possessive pronouns is to use van + object
pronoun. In fact, this is the only way to show possession with the jullie form, as there is no possessive eye oog (n) liver lever toe teen
pronoun for it. This construction corresponds to "of + object" and occurs often in sentences with the verb
"to be." Is deze pen van jou? Is this your pen? Die schoenen zijn niet van mij. Those shoes are not
eyebrow wenkbrauw lung long tongue tong
mine.
If the noun is not present in the clause, then die or dat + van + object pronoun is used. Mijn huis is klein; eyelid ooglid (n) moustache snor tooth tand
dat van hem is erg groot. My house is small; his is very large.
face gezicht (n) mouth mond wound wond
Dutch IV Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
61. Parts of the Body fever koorts muscle spier wrist pols

ankle enkel finger vinger nail nagel

62. Relative Pronouns

41 42
Relative clauses begin with relative pronouns - words that correspond to who, whom, that and which in bat vleermuis lamb lam (n)
English. These may be omitted in English, but must be included in Dutch. The relative pronoun is put into
the correct gender depending on the noun it refers to. The conjugated verb goes to the end of the sentence beak bek lion leeuw
as well as with subordinate clauses. Die and dat are the relative pronouns in Dutch; die refers to people,
singular common nouns and all plural nouns, whereas dat refers to singular neuter nouns. bear beer lobster kreeft
Kent u de man die daar op de hoek staat? Do you know the man who is standing there on the corner?
Dat is het boek dat ik las. That is the book (that) I read. bee bij louse luis
Hier is de jurk die ik gisteren gekocht heb. Here is the dress (which) I bought yesterday.
beetle tor mackerel makreel
Die is replaced by wie when the clause refers to people and is preceded by a preposition. In addition,
whoever is translated as wie.
bird vogel mole mol
De jongen met wie ik praatte heet Piet. The boy with whom I spoke is called Peter.
No relative pronoun is used when the clause refers to things and is preceded by a preposition. In this case, blackbird merel monkey aap
waar- and the preposition are used instead. In some cases, waar- and a preposition can also replace the
relative pronoun when referring to people. bull stier mosquito muskiet
Dat zijn mensen waarop je rekenen kunt. They are people upon whom you can count. (They are people
you can count on.) butterfly vlinder moth mot

Wat replaces dat when the pronoun refers to the words alles (everything), iets (something), niets
calf kalf (n) mouse muis
(nothing); to the superlative form of an adjective used as a noun; to the whole preceding clause. It is also
used when there is no antecedent (no preceding noun/pronoun to refer to.)
carp karper octopus octopus
Dat is alles wat ik heb. That is everything that I have.
Zij komt altijd te laat, wat mij ergert. She always comes late, which annoys me. cat kat / poes ostrich struisvogel

caterpillar rups owl uil

63. Uses of Er
1. Personal pronouns are used after prepositions when referring to people. However, when you need to chicken kip ox os
refer to a thing, a compound using er- plus the preposition (either written as one word, or separated by
adverbial expression) is used. Daar (that) and hier (this) can also replace er when it is not written as one chimpanzee chimpansee oyster oester
word.
claw klauw parrot papegaai
De kinderen spelen er vaak mee. The children often play with it.
De kinderen spelen daar/hier vaak mee. The children often play with that/this.
cockroach kakkerlak partridge patrijs
2. Er is used when talking about a quantity or an amount. It is translated as "of it" or "of them," though
these expressions are not always used in English. cod kabeljauw paw poot
Ik heb er genoeg gehad. I've had enough (of it.)
Hoeveel poesjes heb je? Ik heb er twee. How many kittens do you have? I have two (of them.) cow koe pig varken
3. In an unstressed position, er means there (an adverb of place). It is replaced by daar in stressed
crab krab pigeon duif
positions (such as the beginning of a sentence.)
4. Er can introduce sentences with an indefinite subject. In this case, er functions as there as a subject, as crayfish rivierkreeft rabbit konijn (n)
in "there is/are."
crow kraai rat rat

64. Animals deer hert rooster haan

animal dier (n) horse paard (n)
dog hond salmon zalm
ant mier insect insekt
donkey ezel scale schub
badger das kitten katje / poesje (n)
duck eend (sea) gull (zee)meeuw

43 44
 eagle arend seal zeehond verbs, blijven, laten, zullen, zien (to see), horen (to hear), voelen (to feel), komen, gaan, vinden (to
find), leren (to teach), and helpen.
eel aal shark haai Ik kan komen. I can come.
Het zal morgen regenen. It will rain tomorrow.
elephant olifant sheep schaap (n) Zij gaat iedere dag zwemmen. She goes swimming everyday.
The preposition used in Dutch is te, although the om... te construction can also be used. Verbs that use only
feather veer shrimp garnaal
te before an infinitive include: zitten, staan, liggen, lopen (to walk), beginnen, proberen (to try), durven
(to dare), hoeven (to need), weten. After these prepositions, te is used before an infinitive: zonder
fin vin snail slak
(without), in plaats van (instead of), and door (by.) When using om...te, all adjectives, adverbs, objects,
and expressions of time, manner and place are placed between om and te. Om... te is always used when the
fish vis snake slang infinitive occurs at the beginning of the sentence, and when the infinitive refers to a preceding noun.
flea vlo sparrow mus Hij stond op de bus te wachten. He stood waiting for the bus.
Het begint te regenen. It's beginning to rain.
fly vlieg spider spin
Ik zei het zonder te denken. I said it without thinking.
Het is erg moeilijk om te doen. It is very difficult to do.
Hoeveel kost het om hier te parkeren? How much is it to park here?
fox vos squirrel eekhoorn
Het is een interessant programma om naar te kijken. It is an interesting program to watch.
frog kikker stork ooievaar English infinitives that follow an object are translated into clauses using conjunctions in Dutch.
Zij verwacht dat ik kom. She is expecting me to come. (Literally: She expects that I come.)
fur vacht / pels swallow zwaluw

gill kieuw tail staart

66. Past Perfect Tense
giraffe giraffe tiger tijger
The past perfect tense corresponds to the perfect tense, but the action occurred in the past before another
goat geit toad pad action occurred in the past. In English, it translates to "had" instead of "have" before the past participle.
To form this tense, simply use the simple past of hebben or zijn (whichever auxiliary the verb used in the
goose gans trout forel present perfect tense) and the past participle.
Zij had de boeken niet gevonden. She had not found the books.
gorilla gorilla turkey kalkoen Jullie hadden in Paris gestudeerd. You had studied in Paris.

grasshopper sprinkhaan wasp wesp

67. Conditional
hare haas weasel wezel
The conditional mood expresses doubt or uncertainty. In English, "would + infinitive" is used for the
hen kip / hen whale walvis present conditional and "would have + past participle" is used for the past conditional. In Dutch,
zou/zouden + infinitive is used for the present conditional, and zou/zouden + past participle + infinitive of
heron reiger wing vleugel hebben or zijn is used for the past conditional. (Zou and zouden are the singular and plural past tense forms
of zullen.)
herring haring wolf wolf Ik zou graag thuis blijven. I would like to stay home.
Als ik jou was, zou ik dat huis niet kopen. If I were you, I would not buy that house.
hoof hoef worm worm Ik zou graag thuis gebleven zijn. I would have liked to stay home.

horn hoorn zebra zebra

68. Diminutives
Diminutives are forms of a word that show smallness or endearment and are much more common in Dutch
65. Infinitive Constructions (especially spoken Dutch) than in English. All diminutives in Dutch are formed by adding -je to the noun,
and all are neuter nouns and form the plural by adding -s.
Some verbs require a preposition before an infinitive in Dutch, while others do not. This is true in English
as well; e.g. I want to leave vs. I can read. Verbs that do not require te before an infinitive include: modal

45 46
kindje little child Ik was gevonden. I was found.
neusje little nose Ik was gevonden. I had been found.
schaapje little sheep Ik word gevonden. I am found (right now).
Nouns endings in a vowel, y, w or j; nouns that contain a long vowel or diphthong followed by r, l, or n; Suppose that Peter finds you.
and nouns ending in unstressed -er, -el, and -en add -tje to form the diminutive. Ik ben door Peter gevonden. I am found by Peter.
eitje little egg Ik was door Peter gevonden. I was found by Peter.
beentje little leg Ik word door Peter gevonden. I am found by Peter (right now).
dekentje little blanket Ik word door Peter gevonden. I will be found by Peter.
Nouns containing a short vowel followed by r, l, n, m, or ng add -etje. "Ik word door Peter gevonden." in the present perfect has about the same meaning as "Peter vindt
mij." in the simple present.
balletje little ball
stemmetje little voice
Nouns ending in unstressed -ing drop the final -g and add -kje.
verrassinkje little surprise
Nouns ending in -m add -pje (unless m is preceded by short stressed vowel.)
bezempje little broom

69. Present Participle

The present participle is made by adding -d (or sometimes -de) to the infinitive of a Dutch verb. Present
participles are not used as frequently in Dutch as in English. They are used mainly when another action
takes place within the specific period of time we are talking about. So, every example sentence is about two
actions that take place at the same time.
zingen to sing
Ze liep zingend naar huis. She walked home singing.

lopen to walk
Kun jij lopend lezen? Can you read while walking?

fluisteren to whisper
Hij zei fluisterend dat hij eerder weg wilde. He said whispering that he wanted to leave earlier.
Most of the time an English present participle is not translated by a Dutch present participle. Usually, the
Dutch simple present tense is used instead.
Ze leest een boek. She is reading a book.

70. Passive Voice

When the subject of the sentence does something, the sentence is in the active voice. If something happens
to that person, we use the passive voice.
Replacing the auxiliary verb hebben (to have) by zijn (to be) or worden (to become, to be from this
moment on), very often results in the passive voice.
The verb vinden (to find) is in the active voice:
Ik heb gevonden. I have found.
Ik had gevonden. I had found.

And in the passive voice:

Ik ben gevonden. I am found
Ik ben gevonden. I have been found.

47 48