Dutch Beginner’s Course Part 3

This is the third and last part of the beginner’s course. When you want to read more after completion, use the menu to the left for detailed articles.

Questions

In a question, the pitch of the speaker’s voice is usually raised during the last syllable of the sentence.

Normal Questions

When you want to ask a question, just change the word order and add a question mark. The finite verb (the first verb in the sentences here), moves to the front.

Het boek is groen. - The book is green.
Is het boek groen? - Is the book green?

Het schip roest snel. - The ship rusts quickly.
Roest het schip snel? - Does the ship rust quickly?

Dat is de grootste auto die hier kan parkeren. - That is the biggest car that can park here.
Is dat de grootste auto die hier kan parkeren? - Is that the biggest car that can park here?

De bakker belde hen op. - The baker called them.
Belde de bakker hen op? - Did the baker call them?
The verb gekomen stays in position. Only the finite verb moves to the front.
Ze is gekomen. - She has come.
Is ze gekomen? - Did she come?
Something special happens when je (you) is involved. Then the finite verb loses a t. This happens only in the present tense.
Je hebt een kwartier gewacht. - You have waited for a quarter of an hour.
Heb je een kwartier gewacht? - Have you waited for a quarter of an hour?
This does not happen in the past tense. In fact, it cannot. The finite verb does not end with a t.
Je had een bril. - You had glasses.
Had je een bril? - Did you have glasses?

Questions starting with a pronoun.

A question can start with a pronoun. The answer is most likely a noun. For instance the name of a person, or a thing. Of course you can give a long answer, but the noun in your answer is the answer. The rest can be left out.
Note: The word u is the formal alternative to je.

Examples:
Wie bent u? - Who are you?
Ik ben de kraanmachinist. - I am the crane-driver.
Wie zijn dat? - Who are they?
Dat zijn de prins en zijn vrouw. - They are the prince and his wife.
Welk perron hebt u genoemd? - Which platform did you mention?
Perron 4b. - Perron 4b.

Questions starting with an adverb.

A question can start with an adverb. The answer is a sentence, describing something.

Examples:
Wat is er? - What’s the matter?
Mijn laptop is gestolen. - My laptop is stolen.
Wat zegt u? - What are you saying? (I beg you pardon?)
Die machine heeft een versnellingsbak. - That machine has a gearbox.
Waarom vraag je dat? - Why do you ask (that)?
Omdat ik denk dat je daarheen wilt. - Because I think you want to go there.
Waar is de bushalte? - Where is the bus stop?
Daar. - Over there.
Wanneer vertrekt de bus? - When does the bus depart?
Binnen vijf minuten. - Within five minutes.
Hoe heb je hem gerepareerd? - How did you repair it?
Ik had een reserveonderdeel. - I had a spare part.
Hoe heet u? - What’s your name?
Ik heet Peter van Rijswijk. - My name is Peter van Rijswijk.
Hoeveel kilometer per jaar rijdt u? - How many kilometers a year do you drive?
Ongeveer vijftigduizend. - About fifty thousand.
Hoelang moeten we wachten? - How long do we have to wait?
Het schip moet voorbij zijn voor de brug omlaag kan. - The ship must pass first before the bridge can be lowered.
The adverb hoezo (why) shows disagreement, and includes some amazement too. The word waarom (why) is preferred. It is more polite.
Hoezo mag je hier niet schaatsen? - Why is it not allowed to skate here?
Waarom mag je hier niet schaatsen? - Why is it not allowed to skate here?

Sentences that look like Questions

If a sentence starts with a verb, it is not always a question.
The sentence below is not a question.
Heb je een kwartier gewacht, dan mag je weggaan. - If you have waited for a quarter of an hour, then you may leave.
This sentence looks like the question: Heb je een kwartier gewacht?
The next sentence is not question either. This is the so-called imperative mood. A command is given here.
Bel de bakker. - Call the baker.
The sentences you just read can be rewritten in such a way, that they don’t look like questions anymore.
Als je een kwartier hebt gewacht, dan mag je weggaan. - If you have waited for a quarter of an hour, you may leave.
Ik wil dat je de bakker belt. - I want you to call the baker.

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Negation

When you want to adapt a sentence to say the opposite, you can use niet (not) and in some cases geen (none). Many examples are given to show where niet can fit in. The verbs do not change. The word geen looks like the word een (a or an), and is able to replace it. The pronunciation of the word is regular.

Ik heb een jas. - I have a coat.
Ik heb geen jas. - I don’t have a coat.

Ik heb er een. - I have one.
Ik heb er geen. - I have none.
geen can also precede a plural word. Normally, een cannot precede a plural word.

Ik heb schroevendraaiers. - I have screwdrivers.
Ik heb geen schroevendraaiers. - I don’t have screwdrivers.
The sentences are given in pairs. The first is positive, the second is negative.

Zij heeft het boek. - She has the book.
Zij heeft het boek niet. - She doesn’t have the book.

Zet de taart op tafel. - Put the cake on the table.
Zet de taart niet op tafel. - Don’t put the cake on the table.

Ze heeft de boeken teruggegeven. - She has returned the books.
Ze heeft de boeken niet teruggegeven. - She did not return the books.

De schoenen en sokken zijn kwijt. - The shoes and socks are lost.
De schoenen en sokken zijn niet kwijt. - The shoes and socks are not lost.

De bakker vertelde het aan mij. - The baker told me.
De bakker vertelde het niet aan mij. - The baker did not tell me.
When the word order is not normal, the word niet can be inserted all the same.

als je belt - if you call
als je niet belt - if you do not call

Als je belt, dan weet ik wanneer je komt. - If you call I know when you will come.
Als je niet belt, dan weet ik niet wanneer je komt. - If you do not call I do not know when you will come.

Ze zegt dat ik de eigenaar ben. - She says that I am the owner.
Ze zegt dat ik de eigenaar niet ben. - She says that I am not the owner.

Hij zegt dat ze slaapt. - He says that she is sleeping.
Hij zegt dat ze niet slaapt. - He says that she is not sleeping.

Hij zegt dat ze heeft gereden. - He says that she has driven.
Hij zegt dat ze niet heeft gereden. - He says that she has not driven.
You can add an n to the words iets, iemand, and ergens, to get a negation.

Ik heb iets gekocht. - I have bought something.
Ik heb niets gekocht. - I have bought nothing.

Ik heb iemand gezien. - I have seen somebody.
Ik heb niemand gezien. - I have seen nobody.

Ik ben ergens geweest. - I have been somewhere.
Ik ben nergens geweest. - I have been nowhere.
Use niet in a question this way:

Wie herkent hen in dit dorp? - Who will recognize them in this village?
Wie herkent hen niet in dit dorp? - Who will not recognize them in this village?

Waarom hebben ze u gekozen? - Why did they choose you?
Waarom hebben ze u niet gekozen? - Why did they not choose you?

Large Example

When a sentence is long enough, you can contradict different elements of the sentence. We can make a number of negative answers by inserting niet (not) or geen (none) somewhere.
The long sentence we will look at is:
Ik heb een kwartier op de bus gewacht. - I have waited for the bus for a quarter of an hour.
Just imagine somebody asks you this question:
Heb jij een kwartier op de bus gewacht? - Have you waited for the bus for a quarter of an hour?
The positive answer to this question is:
Ja, ik heb een kwartier op de bus gewacht. - Yes, I waited for the bus for a quarter of an hour.
The negative answers are shown below. Stress the underlined words.
When somebody else waited for the bus:
Ik heb geen kwartier op de bus gewacht. - I did not wait for the bus for a quarter of an hour.
When the waiting did not take a quarter of an hour:
Ik heb geen kwartier op de bus gewacht. - I did not wait for the bus for a quarter of an hour.
Ik heb op de bus gewacht, maar geen kwartier. - I did wait for the bus, but not for a quarter of an hour.
When you did not wait for the bus (but for something else):
Ik heb niet een kwartier op de bus gewacht. - I did not wait for the bus for a quarter of an hour.
Ik heb een kwartier gewacht, maar niet op de bus. - I did wait for a quarter of an hour, but not for the bus.
When you were sitting in the bus:
Ik heb niet gewacht. Ik heb een kwartier in de bus gezeten. - I have not waited. I sat in the bus for a quarter of an hour.

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Spelling and Punctuation

Capitals

Capitals are used in:

the first letter of a sentence
De tafel is van hout. - The table is made of wood.
the first letter of the first word of a quote (within a sentence)
Hij zei: ‘Dag.’ - He said: ‘Bye.’
names of persons. Don’t use an article (de, het, een) for a name.
Peter Visser, meneer Visser - Peter Visser, Mr. Visser
mevrouw Van Dijk, meneer Van Dijk, Wim van Dijk - Mrs. Van Dijk, Mr. Van Dijk, Wim van Dijk
names of companies and brands
Boeing, 3M, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij - Boeing, 3M, Royal Aviation Company (KLM)
title(s) of the creator. Don’t use the article (de).
God - God
title(s) of kings, queens, etc.
Hare Majesteit, Uwe Koninklijke Hoogheid - Her Majesty, Your Royal Highness
geographical names. Use an article for mountains and lakes.
Den Haag, New York, Afrika, de Mount Everest - The Hague, New York, Africa, the Mount Everest
(some) abbreviations
KLM, NL - KLM, NL
the first word of the title of a document
Italiaanse recepten voor vier personen - Italian Recipes for Four Persons
Capitals are not used in:

names of days of the week
zondag, maandag - Sunday, Monday
names of the months
november, december - November, December
proper nouns, derived from a name or brand
jerrycan, spa, saxofoon - jerrycan (container), Spa (drink), saxophone (musical instrument)
(some) abbreviations
m.a.w. , zondag jl. , enz. , km , tl-buis - in other words, last Sunday, etcetera, kilometers, tl-tube

Numbers

The dot (.) and the comma (,) are used in Dutch numbers, but not as in English.
Fractions are written to the right of a comma.
Het gewicht is 0,34 gram. - The weight is 0.34 grams.
Het gewicht is 760,34 gram. - The weight is 760.34 grams.
Large numbers are divided in parts of three digits, separated by dots. If a number is not very large a dot is not really necessary.
Dat schip kost 1.000.000 euro. - That ship costs 1,000,000 (one million) euros.
Ik heb 6.000 bestanden op mijn harde schijf gezet. - I have put 6,000 files on my hard disk.
Ik heb 6000 bestanden op mijn harde schijf gezet. - I have put 6000 files on my hard disk.

Punctuation in a Sentence

The end of a sentence is marked by a dot, or by another symbol. When the sentence is not complete the symbol is omitted, for example in the title of this chapter. We use a dot (.), a question mark (?) or an exclamation mark (!).
Ik kom. - I come.
Kom je? - Will you come?
Kom! - Come!
A dot is also used in abbreviations.
Ik zag ganzen, eenden, fazanten, enz. - I saw goose, ducks, pheasants, etc.
Dat is goed, m.a.w. ik betaal wel. - That is okay, in other words: I’ll pay for it.
The semicolon (;) can be used instead of a dot at the end a sentence. In that case, the two sentences are tied together. This is done rarely.
Het is geen hard geluid; niemand hoort het. - It is not a loud noise; nobody hears it.
The colon (:) is used to start a list.
Ik noem er vier: die, deze, dat en dit. - I mention four: those, these, that, and this.
The colon can start a quotation.
Hij zei: ‘Toch bedankt.’ - He said: ‘Thanks anyway.’
The comma (,) is used to split the sentence in logical parts. The subsentence starts after the comma.
Ik ben te laat, omdat het glad is op straat. - I am late, because the streets are icy.
The comma (,) is used between adjectives, when the adjectives apply to the same thing, or person.
De lange, lawaaierige trein. - The long, noisy train.
The comma is placed at the end of a quote, when the sentence continues after the quote.
‘Dat weet ik niet,’ zei ze. - ‘I don’t know,’ she said.
Quotes (‘ and ’) are used to quote. The double quotes (“ and ”) are used less often. (Note the word order of zei hij and Hij zei.)
‘Mag ik u iets vragen?’ zei hij. ‘Waar is de bushalte?’ - ‘May I ask you something?’ he said. ‘Where is the bus stop?’
‘Dat weet ik niet,’ zei ze. - ‘I don’t know,’ she said.
Hij zei tegen haar: ‘Toch bedankt.’ - He said to her: ‘Thanks anyway.’
Quotes are also used to make clear that the writer disagrees with a word or phrase mentioned between the quotes.
Dat is ‘slim’. - That is ‘smart’.
Titles of books, movies, articles, plays, etc. are often printed in italics. (The name of the book means Rivers in the Netherlands)
Dat boek heet Rivieren in Nederland. - The name of that book is Rivieren in Nederland.
Brackets are applied sometimes. Most of the time, it is better to use commas instead.
Alle deelnemers (voor zover aanwezig) krijgen een landkaart. - All participants (when present) receive a map.
Dashes are rarely used instead of brackets.
Vorig jaar heb ik - meer dan ooit - gemerkt hoe belangrijk dat is. - Last year I noticed - more than ever - how important that is.

Punctuation within a Word

A word can have a hyphen (-) in it. This dash is used to prevent that two vowels are pronounced as if there is just one vowel. It occurs in compound words.
auto-ongeluk - car accident
zee-egel - sea urchin
micro-organisme - micro organism
A hyphen (-) can be used when a part of a compound word is left out to shorten the sentence. This can only occur when another compound word is still complete.
de linker- en rechterkant - the left side and right side
A diaeresis is placed on the first letter of a syllable to prevent that two vowels are pronounces as if there is just one syllable.
calorieën - calories
A word can have an apostrophe (’), like plural words that end with a, i, o, u, or y.
satellietfoto’s - satellite images

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Building a sentence

The Simplest Sentences

Declarative sentences make a statement about something. They are not questions. We will talk about the simplest sentences first.
Ik praatte met mijn vader. - I talked to my father.
The normal word order is:

• subject - the person (or thing) that does something.
• verb - what the person does.
• object - a person or thing that is directly affected by his actions.
• object - a person or thing that is involved in some way.
• other remarks - for instance about time and place.

Note: time information is often placed right next to the verb.
Each category gets a number. We are going to build sentences according to this pattern.

1	2	3	4	5
subject	verb	object (direct object)	object (indirect object)	other information (time, place, etc.)

The following sentences contain the categories 1, 2, and 3. The verb is in bold font.
Ik praatte met mijn vader. - I talked to my father.
Ik draag mijn kleinzoon. - I carry my grandchild.
Ik ontmoet de premier. - I meet the prime minister.
Ik verfde de kruk. - I painted the stool.
The following sentences contain the categories 1, 2, 3, and 4. The fourth category is underlined.
Ik praatte met mijn vader door de telefoon. - I talked to my father by phone.
Ik verfde de kruk met een kwast. - I painted the stool with a brush.
The next two sentences contain five categories each.
Ik praatte met mijn vader door de telefoon in de woonkamer. - I talked to my father by phone in the living room.
Ik verfde de kruk met een kwast in de schuur. - I painted the stool with a brush in the shed.
If you want to add information about the time, you can. Let’s call that category the time-category. The fourth category is still underlined, and the time-category is underlined too.
Ik praatte met mijn vader door de telefoon in de woonkamer deze week. - I talked to my father by phone in the living room this week.
Ik verfde de kruk met een kwast in de schuur op tien oktober. - I painted the stool with a brush in the shed on the tenth of October.
When a sentence has too many elements, start a new sentence and put an element in there. It is done like this:
Ik praatte met mijn vader door de telefoon deze week. Ik was in de woonkamer. - I talked to my father by phone this week. I was in the living room.
Ik verfde de kruk met een kwast op tien oktober. Ik werkte in de schuur. - I painted the stool with a brush on the tenth of October. I worked in the shed.

Declarative Sentence - Adapted Word Order

When you move an element to the front, the sentence gets a new pattern.
Moving an element (often a preposition phrase) to the front is done this way:

Move all the words of an element to the front of the sentence. Then swap the subject and the verb, to make a correct sentence. This example shows how we can do it. The time-category is moved to the front. The subject and the verb exchange position. Deze week praatte ik met mijn vader door de telefoon. - This week I talked to my father by phone. Op tien oktober verfde ik de kruk met een kwast. - On the tenth of October I painted the stool with a brush. It seems best not to move more than one element to the front. In the following table, the phrases that were moved to the front are in red font. phrase finite verb noun (the subject) phrase phrase dot Deze week praatte ik met mijn vader door de telefoon . Op tien oktober verfde ik de kruk met een kwast . In the previous examples, the subject was just one word: ik. A subject can be very long. In the next example, the subject has three words. That does not change the method we use. Mijn oudste broer praatte met mijn vader door de telefoon deze week. - My oldest brother talked to my father by phone this week. Deze week praatte mijn oudste broer met mijn vader door de telefoon. - This week my oldest brother talked to my father by phone. Let’s add this new sentence to the table we already made. phrase finite verb subject (a noun, or a noun phrase) phrase phrase dot Deze week praatte ik met mijn vader door de telefoon . Deze week praatte mijn oudste broer met mijn vader door de telefoon . Op tien oktober verfde ik de kruk met een kwast . There is just one category you cannot move to the front. That is the verb. When you do it, the sentence becomes a question. The sentence loses its meaning then. Declarative Sentence - Normal Word Order - Two Verbs Sometimes two or more verbs are needed to describe one action of a person. In the following examples, two verbs are used per sentence. Ik heb gepraat. - I have talked. Ik heb geverfd. - I have painted. Ik wil praten. - I want to talk. Ik wil verven. - I want to paint. The following sentences are in the past tense, but we need two verbs per sentence. Therefore we will adapt them. Ik praatte met mijn vader door de telefoon. - I talked to my father by phone. Ik verfde de kruk met een kwast. - I painted the stool with a brush. We make the present perfect tense to get two verbs in every sentence. The results are: Ik heb met mijn vader door de telefoon gepraat. - I have talked to my father by phone. Ik heb de kruk met een kwast geverfd. - I have painted the stool with a brush. The strange word order we see here is typical to the Dutch language. It occurs when a sentence has more than one verb. Here are some more examples. Note that the verbs stay together in the English sentences, but not in the Dutch sentences. Ik wil met mijn vader door de telefoon praten. - I want to talk to my father by phone. Ik wil de kruk met een kwast verven. - I want to paint the stool with a brush. Overview Word Order in Simple Sentences The table below shows the sentence patterns we talked about. (A simple sentence means here a sentence without any subsentences.) Sometimes the word order of a sentence demands the use of a question mark. In those cases a question mark is shown. Otherwise the sentence is a normal sentence. The verbs are in bold font. Important: The second, fourth and eighth column contain a verb or nothing at all. Never place something else (like hier or met een kwast) in there. If you want to add more phrases to the sentence and there is no room in the table, just insert a new column between the 4th and the 8th column. Word order in Dutch sentences     Hij verfde de kruk   met een kwast   .   Verfde hij   de kruk   met een kwast   ? Met een kwast verfde hij   de kruk       .     Hij heeft de kruk   met een kwast geverfd .   Heeft hij   de kruk   met een kwast geverfd ? Met een kwast heeft hij   de kruk     geverfd .     Hij heeft de kruk hier met een kwast geverfd . Hier heeft hij   de kruk   met een kwast geverfd . The last sentence and its translation is: Hier heeft hij de kruk met een kwast geverfd. - Here he has painted the stool with a brush. skip chapter Numbers The last digit of a Dutch number is pronounced before the one before last digit. zeven - seven zevenendertig - thirty-seven (literally: seven-and-thirty). The other digits are pronounced before the last two. honderdzevenendertig - one hundred thirty-seven (literally: hundred-seven-and-thirty). duizendzevenendertig - one thousand thirty-seven (literally: thousand-seven-and-thirty). Example sentences: Dat hek heeft eenentwintig palen. - That fence has twenty-one poles. Dat gebouw heeft honderdeenentwintig verdiepingen. - That building has one hundred twenty-one stories. Dat kost driehonderdvijf euro. - That costs 305 euro. Dat kost driehonderdvijfenveertig euro. - That costs 345 euro. Number one The word een means a, an, or one, depending on the context. The word één always means one. Use één when you think the reader cannot derive the meaning from the context. The vowel of een is pronounced like u in hurtle, unless it means one. The vowel of één is pronounced like ay in the hay. In fact, this is the normal pronunciation of an ee sound. Dutch Cardinal Numbers Vijftien (15) is the first compound word. The numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 30, 40 , and 80 are irregular. 0 nul   1 een 11 elf 21 eenentwintig 2 twee 12 twaalf 22 tweeëntwintig 3 drie 13 dertien 23 drieëntwintig 4 vier 14 veertien 24 vierentwintig 5 vijf 15 vijftien 25 vijfentwintig 6 zes 16 zestien 26 zesentwintig 7 zeven 17 zeventien 27 zevenentwintig 8 acht 18 achttien 28 achtentwintig 9 negen 19 negentien 29 negenentwintig 10 tien 20 twintig 30 dertig 10 tien 11 elf 20 twintig 21 eenentwintig 30 dertig 31 eenendertig 40 veertig 41 eenenveertig 50 vijftig 51 eenenvijftig 60 zestig 61 eenenzestig 70 zeventig 71 eenenzeventig 80 tachtig 81 eenentachtig 90 negentig 91 eenennegentig 100 honderd 101 honderdeen 10 tien 11 elf 100 honderd 153 honderddrieënvijftig 1.000   duizend   1.030 1.250 duizenddertig twaalfhonderdvijftig 10.000 tienduizend 13.469 dertienduizend vierhonderdnegenenzestig 100.000 honderdduizend 375.003 driehonderdvijfenzeventigduizend drie 1.000.000 een miljoen 4.023.086 vier miljoen drieëntwintigduizend zesentachtig 10.000.000 tien miljoen 14.000.000 veertien miljoen 100.000.000 honderd miljoen 180.000.000 honderdtachtig miljoen 1.000.000.000 miljard 6.000.000.000 zes miljard Ordinal Numbers Use ordinal numbers to make a ranking. They are based on the cardinal numbers of the previous paragraph. We write 1e, 2e, 20e, and so on, always adding an e. Writing it in superscript is not obligatory. We can also write 1ste, 2de, 20ste, and so on, adding the suffix de or ste. You can read below which suffix belongs to a specific number. When we use letters, we add to the cardinal number found in the previous paragraph the following letters: de when the last two digits of the number have a value of 2 to 19. Examples: 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 19, 102, 113, 1002. twee (2) tweede (2e) drie (3) derde (3e, irregular spelling) zestien (16) zestiende (16e) achttien (18) achttiende (18e) ste when the number is acht (8) (This is an exception to the previous rule.) acht (8) achtste (8e) ste when the number is een (1) een (1) eerste (1e, irregular spelling) ste when the last two digits of the number are 00, or 01, or greater than 19. Examples: 20, 21, 33, 40, 50, 60, 100, 101, 125, 1030. twintig (20) twintigste (20e) 1e eerste 11e elfde 21e eenentwintigste 2e tweede 12e twaalfde 22e tweeëntwintigste 3e derde 13e dertiende 23e drieëntwintigste 4e vierde 14e veertiende 24e vierentwintigste 5e vijfde 15e vijftiende 25e vijfentwintigste 6e zesde 16e zestiende 26e zesentwintigste 7e zevende 17e zeventiende 27e zevenentwintigste 8e achtste 18e achttiende 28e achtentwintigste 9e negende 19e negentiende 29e negenentwintigste 10e tiende 20e twintigste 30e dertigste 10e tiende 11e elfde 40e veertigste 41e eenenveertigste 60e zestigste 62e tweeënzestigste 100e honderdste 101e 153e honderdeerste (honderd en eerste) honderddrieënvijftigste 1.000e   duizendste   1.030e 1.250e duizenddertig twaalfhonderdvijftigste 10.000e tienduizendste 13.469e dertienduizend vierhonderdnegenenzestigste 100.000e honderdduizendste 375.003e driehonderdvijfenzeventigduizend en derde 1.000.000e miljoenste 4.023.086e vier miljoen drieëntwintigduizend zesentachtigste 10.000.000e tien miljoenste 14.000.000e veertien miljoenste 100.000.000e honderd miljoenste 180.000.000e honderdtachtig miljoenste 1.000.000.000e miljardste 6.000.000.000e zes miljardste Examples: U bent de miljoenste bezoeker. - You are the 1,000,000th visitor. Doe de honderdeerste in de volgende doos. - Put the 101st in the next box. Ordinal numbers are used in dates if the month’s name is not mentioned. Ik word betaald op de vijftiende van elke maand. - I am paid on the 15th of each month. Addresses Molenweg 10 Molenweg tien street Van Dijkstraat 10a Van Dijkstraat tien a street 3425 KA vierendertig vijfentwintig KA Postal Code 070-4253896 nul zeventig, vier twee vijf drie acht negen zes telephone number 06-42538960 nul zes, vier twee vijf drie acht negen zes nul telephone number Time Clock times are pronounced this way: 8:00 acht uur 8:05 vijf over acht 8:15 kwart over acht (better than: vijftien over acht) 8:20 tien voor half negen 8:30 half negen 8:35 vijf over half negen 8:45 kwart voor negen (better than: vijftien voor negen) 8:50 tien voor negen 10:00 tien uur ’s morgens - ten o’clock in the morning 13:00 een uur ’s middags - one o’clock in the afternoon 20:00 acht uur ’s avonds - eight o’clock in the evening 0:00 twaalf uur ’s nachts - twelve o’clock at night 0:00 middernacht - midnight Dates Digits in dates are written in this order: day, month, and year. The English order, 4/12, will be mistaken for December the fourth. The hyphen (-) is preferred to the slash or oblique stroke (/). We write the date like this: 12-4-2010. 1 oktober 1993 sounds like een oktober negentien drieënnegentig 5 juli 2005 sounds like vijf juli tweeduizendvijf Examples: 1 oktober 1993 - October 1st 1993 november ’95 - November 1995 13 maart 2000 - March 13th 2000 5 juli 2005 - July 5th 2005 1 januari 2010 - January 1st 2010 19-1-2010 - 1/19/2010 to end of document Syllables Splitting a word into syllables can you help to find the right pronunciation. The pronunciation of the vowels aa, ee, ie, oo, uu, au, ou, ei, eu, ieu, ij, oe, and ui does not depend on syllables. the oe in boeken (books) and in boek (book) are pronounced the same. The pronunciation of vowels that have only one letter (a, e, i, o, and u) is not always the same. This chapter is written especially for these vowels. We are trying to determine when these vowels are pronounced as aa, ee, ie, oo or uu - in open syllables a, e, i, o, or u - in closed syllables Examples: the a in baken (beacon) and in bak (tray, reservoir) are pronounced differently. the a in bakken (trays, reservoirs) and in bak (tray, reservoir) are pronounced the same, because the syllables are both closed here. Note: the pronunciation of vowel e is often like u in the English word “hurtle”, even in open syllables. Examples are de (the), ze (she or they), einde (end), and praatte (talked). Even the word een (which means a or an) is pronounced dull, although it has an ee in it. Open Syllables Always: When the last letter of a syllable is a vowel, the syllable is open. Very often: If a syllable is open, a is pronounced like aa, e like ee, i like ie, o like oo, and u like uu. We call this pronunciation clear. The first syllable of water (meaning: water) is wa. This is an open syllable. The letter a is pronounced as aa. The pronunciation is clear. Closed Syllables Always: If a syllable is closed, the pronunciation of the vowels we just talked about (a, e, i, o, u) is different. The first syllable of takken (meaning: branches) is tak. This is a closed syllable. The letter a is pronounced as a in the English word part. This pronunciation is dull. The first syllable of messen (meaning: knives) is mes. This is a closed syllable. The letter e is pronounced as e in the English word mess. This pronunciation is short and sharp. And not like ee. Double consonants A double consonant is pronounced as one consonant. The double consonant is only needed to change the pronunciation of a vowel. Double consonants that occur are: bb, dd, ff, gg, kk, ll, mm, nn, pp, rr, ss, and tt. Splitting Words Always: Every syllable has one vowel in it. Vowels are: a, e, i, o, u, aa, ae, au, ou, ee, ei, eu, ie, ieu, ij, oe, oo, ui, uu. The letter y is a vowel sometimes. They are never split. Examples are: ou in hout (wood) cannot be separated: hout oo in voor (before, for, in front of) cannot be separated: voor ee in deel (part) cannot be separated: deel The word voordeel (advantage) is split this way: voor-deel Always: Other combinations of vowels, like the following, are split. ua in situatie (situation) is split: si-tu-a-tie uee in actueel (recent) is split: ac-tu-eel ue in evacueren (to evacuate) is split: e-va-cu-e-ren iu in jodium (iodine) is split: jo-di-um Always: When two consonants are the same, the last one always joins the second syllable. vissen (fish, to fish): vis-sen Often: A consonant between two vowels joins the second vowel. In English, it is the other way round. water (water): wa-ter broden (loaves): bro-den gedaan (done): ge-daan Exceptions: veroorzaken (to cause): ver-oor-za-ken (possible reason: ver is a prefix) More than half of the time: When two consonants follow each other, the first one joins the first syllable. kranten (newspapers): kran-ten banden (tyres): ban-den Exceptions: gestoofd (stewed): ge-stoofd (possible reason: ge is a prefix) beslagen (steamed): be-sla-gen (possible reason: be is a prefix) lachen (to laugh): la-chen (reason: ch is seen as one sound. But a is dull here anyway.) Always: A compound word is made by joining two or more words. The boundaries between these words are boundaries of syllables also. First split the compound word in words. After that, split these words into syllables. Not earlier. beurs (stock exchange) and optie (option) are the words. beursoptie (stock exchange option): beurs-op-tie Always: When a diaeresis is placed on a vowel, this vowel must be the first letter of a syllable. Example: geïn must be split, while gein (an informal word for fun) should not. We zijn geïnformeerd. (We are informed): We zijn ge-in-for-meerd. nouns water (water): wa-ter the first syllable is open (a as aa) taken (tasks): ta-ken the first syllable is open (a as aa) taak (tasks): taak aa is one vowel, and is not split takken (branches): tak-ken all syllables are closed, kk is split (a is dull) reis (journey): reis ei is one vowel, and is not split voordeel (advantage): voor-deel oo is never at the end of a syllable verwarming (heater): ver-war-ming m joins the last syllable (e as in less is regular) verandering (change): ver-an-de-ring ver is a prefix (first e as in less) sleeën (sleighs): slee-en a diaeresis starts a syllable slepen (to drag): sle-pen e like the Dutch ee (as in the English word hay) lettergrepen (syllables): let-ter-gre-pen only the third syllable is open vrachtauto (truck): vracht-au-to compound word, t joins the first syllable vracht (freight): vracht one vowel means we have one syllable auto (car, automobile): au-to au is one vowel, and is not split verbs Ik maakte (I made): Ik maak-te aa is one vowel, and is not split Ik voelde (I felt): Ik voel-de oe is one vowel, and is not split het veroorzaakt (it causes): het ver-oor-zaakt ver is a prefix (e as in less is regular) is beslagen (is steamed): is be-sla-gen be is a prefix (e almost as u in bus) geven (to give): ge-ven First e as ee. Second e almost as u in bus (both regular). Exception tegengoal (opponent’s goal): te-gen-goal reason: oa is one English sound.

Dutch Beginner’s Course Part 2

Verb Tenses

This chapter is about how to use verbs. Read about spelling details in the document Verb Conjugation. In this chapter, easy examples are found.
The verb list shows Dutch verbs, one table per verb

Introduction to Verbs

A verb often specifies a action.

werken - to work
lopen - to walk
rennen - to run
Other verbs talk about a situation, like hebben (to have).

Ik heb een jas. - I have a coat.
Ik heb de schroevendraaier. - I have the screwdriver.
Most verbs in Dutch have an en ending. The dictionary will show verbs like:

voelen - to feel
werken - to work
hebben - to have
komen - to come
opbellen - to call (by telephone)
zeggen - to say
Many other verbs have an n ending.

zijn - to be
staan - to stand
gaan - to go
opstaan - to rise
overslaan - to skip


Words like staan, werken, and hebben we call infinitives of a verb.

Tenses

Without a verb, a sentence is not complete. A verb informs you about something that happens now, in the past, or in the future. The verb also shows if the action is completed or not.
In the next table, six ways in which a verb is used are shown. Each of this applications is called a tense. When we talk about now, we use the present tense. When we talk about the past, we use the past tense.
Six tenses of the verb to walk are shown here.

	action goes on	action completed
now	I walk	I have walked
past	I walked	I had walked
It will happen in the future	I will walk	I will have walked

This time, the names of the tenses are placed in the six records.

	action goes on	action completed
now	simple present	present perfect
past	simple past	past perfect
It will happen in the future	simple future	future perfect

Simple Present

The simple present of a verb talks about now.

Je bent de eerste. - You are the first.
Ja, ik werk zonder zaag. - Yes, I work without a saw.
We hebben een boot. - We have a boat.
If you have something now, use the present tense of hebben. If you work now, use the present tense of werken.
The verb voelen (to feel) is shown in the table below. The appearance of the verb changes in six ways. It depends on the person we talk about.
You can see that voel is used everywhere. The word voel is the base word to add letters to. We call it the stem of the verb. In the present tense, you can add t or en to the stem, or nothing at all. Not every verb is made so easily, because the stem of some verbs must be adapted a little before use.

singular		plural
ik voel	I feel	we voelen	we feel
je voelt	you feel	jullie voelen	you feel
hij voelt	he feels	ze voelen	they feel

Word order matters

When je (or jij) is the subject, the word order influences the spelling of the verb. The letter t of voelt is dropped, when voel precedes je. Then we get “voel je”. Otherwise we get “je voelt”. This can only happen in the present tense. In occurs in every regular verb.
je voelt - you feel
voel je - you feel
voel je - do you feel

Examples:
Je voelt de wind waaien. - You feel the wind is blowing.
Voel je de wind waaien? - Do you feel the wind is blowing?
Als je hier staat, dan voel je de wind waaien. - If you stand over here, then you feel the wind is blowing.

But for the other persons (ik, hij, we, etc.) the word order doesn’t matter. The word u means you and is formal.

Examples:
Hij voelt de wind waaien. - He feels the wind is blowing.
Voelt hij de wind ook waaien? - Does he also feel the wind is blowing?
U voelt de wind waaien. - You feel the wind is blowing.
Meneer, voelt u de wind waaien? - Sir, do you feel the wind is blowing?
Conclusion: the word order only influences the spelling of a verb when je or jij is involved. It is very important to remember, because this inversion (the change of the word order) occurs in questions, and many questions have je (or jij) as a subject. This change only takes place in the present tense.
Ben je wakker? - Are you awake?
Je bent wakker. - You are awake.
Heb jij geld? - Do you have money?
Jij hebt geld. - You have money.

Adding more persons to the table

We have talked about the personal pronouns ik, je, hij, we, jullie, and ze. But there are more personal pronouns.

the word hij (he) can be replaced by ze (she) or het (it). Don’t forget these words do not mean the same, although they share a record in the table. the word je (you) can be replaced by u (you), a formal word. The pronunciation of e in the words je, we and ze, is like u in “hurtle”. Replace them by jij (you), wij (we) and zij (she, they) if you want to stress the word. you can say u to a group of people. Then u is the formal way to say jullie. These persons are shown in the table below. voelen (to feel) - simple present singular ik voel I feel je voelt jij voelt u voelt you feel you feel you feel hij voelt ze voelt zij voelt het voelt he feels she feels she feels it feels plural we voelen wij voelen we feel we feel jullie voelen u voelt you feel you feel ze voelen zij voelen they feel they feel Examples: Zij voelt de grip van het stuur. - She feels the grip of the steering wheel. Jullie voelen de warmte. - You feel the warmth. We just talked about a regular verb, which means it behaves predictable. The verb in the next example is also regular. Examples: Zij bedoelt de grip van het stuur. - She means the grip of the steering wheel. Jullie bedoelen de warmte. - You mean the warmth. Zijn (to be) is an irregular verb. It is not an example on how to make verbs, but the verb is important enough to show here. zijn (to be) - simple present singular plural ik ben I am we zijn we are je bent you are jullie zijn you are hij is he is ze zijn they are Information about “ben je” is left out, because it can be concluded from what is shown. Examples: Ik ben hier - I am here. Ben je hier? - Are you here? Je bent hier. - You are here. De tafel is groen. - The table is green. The verb hebben (to have) is an irregular verb. It is not an example on how to make verbs, but the verb is important enough to show here anyway. hebben (to have) - simple present singular plural ik heb I have we hebben we have je hebt you have jullie hebben you have hij heeft he has ze hebben they have Examples: Ik heb groene laarzen. - I have green boots. Heeft hij een rijbewijs? - Does he have a driving license? Strong verbs look like weak verbs in the present tense. There is no visible difference here. Hij zingt. - He sings. Zing jij? - Do you sing? Je zingt. - You sing. Simple Past Use the past tense of a verb to talk about the past. Many novels are written in the past tense, but children’s books are often written in the present tense. In conversation, the simple past is used less often than the present perfect. In the next sentence, te is added to wacht to make the simple past. Ik wachtte. Het werd donker. - I waited. It got dark. In the present tense this would be: Ik wacht. Het wordt donker. - I’m waiting. It is getting dark. The table of wachten is shown right here. Look at the syllables that are added to wacht. These syllables are te and ten. wachten (to wait) - simple past singular plural ik wachtte I waited we wachtten we waited je wachtte you waited jullie wachtten you waited hij wachtte he waited ze wachtten they waited Let’s look at the past tense of the verb voelen (to feel). This is a regular verb too. We make the stem voel by removing en. We add de or den to the stem voel. The table is shown here. voelen (to feel) - simple past singular plural ik voelde I felt we voelden we felt je voelde you felt jullie voelden you felt hij voelde he felt ze voelden they felt hebben is an irregular verb. We get in the past tense: hebben (to have) - simple past singular plural ik had I had we hadden we had je had you had jullie hadden you had hij had he had ze hadden they had zijn is an irregular verb. In the past tense, it looks a little like the English verb to be. zijn (to be) - simple past singular plural ik was I was we waren we were je was you was jullie waren you were hij was he was ze waren they were The verb zingen (to sing) is strong. It has a regular strong pattern. In the plural en is added to zong, not to zing. In the singular nothing is added. zingen (to sing) - simple past singular plural ik zong I sang we zongen we sang je zong you sang jullie zongen you sang hij zong he sang ze zongen they sang Present Perfect The present perfect is important in Dutch. The English simple past is very often translated to the Dutch present perfect. In other words: The Dutch people use the present perfect very often. The verb to have means to have, but not always. The verb can be used quite differently. It can be used as an auxiliary verb. Auxiliary verbs are only there to help the verb they must help. In this example wachten is accompanied by the word heb (have) from the verb hebben (to have). Examples: wachten - to wait Ik heb gewacht. - I have waited. Ik heb een kwartier gewacht. - I have waited for a quarter of an hour. Ik heb op de bus gewacht. - I have waited for the bus. Ik heb een kwartier op de bus gewacht. - I have waited for the bus for a quarter of an hour. Notice that the word heb in “Ik heb gewacht” does not mean at all that I possess (have) something. This is also true in English. Let’s compare the new tense (the present perfect) with the other tenses we talked about earlier. present Ik wacht. Kom naar buiten. - I’m waiting. Come outside. past Ik wachtte. Ondertussen werd het donker. - I waited. In the meantime it got dark. present perfect Ik heb gewacht, maar je kwam niet. Ik ben toen naar huis gegaan. - I have waited, but you didn’t come. Then I went home. Jij hebt gewacht, maar ik ook. - You have waited, but I did too. Heb jij ook gewacht? Waar? - Have you waited too? Where? The table of wachten in the present perfect is shown below. It is based on the table of the simple present of hebben. The only difference is, that the word gewacht (waited) is added everywhere. Every verb has just one past participle, and the past participle of wachten is gewacht. wachten (to wait) - present perfect singular plural ik heb gewacht I have waited we hebben gewacht we have waited je hebt gewacht you have waited jullie hebben gewacht you have waited hij heeft gewacht he has waited ze hebben gewacht they have waited Note: ze (she) and het (it) are done exactly like hij (he). Imperative The imperative is used to give an order. Sometimes it looks like a question, because the sentence starts with a verb. You can see that is not true, because there is no question mark in imperative sentences. The imperative is written as if the word ik (I), precedes the verb. But the subject (when not mentioned) is always you. Ga naar binnen. - Go inside. Blijf binnen. - Stay inside. Ga naar huis. Ik ga ook naar huis - Go home. I will go home too. These examples can be made more polite by adding a softening word like maar, a word that normally means but. Ga maar naar binnen. - I suggest you go inside. Blijf maar binnen. - I suggest you stay inside. Ga maar naar huis. Ik ga ook naar huis - I suggest you to go home. I will go home too. But when time is short, short sentences are polite enough. Kijk, een wespennest. - Look, a wasps’ nest. Loop door. Kijk uit. - Walk on. Watch out. Pas op. - Be alert. (Watch out.) Struikel niet over die steen. - Don’t stumble over that brick. You can add alsjeblieft (please) if you like (or alstublieft, which is a formal word). Ga mee, alsjeblieft. - Come with me, please. Ga mee, alstublieft. - Come with me, please. Most of the time questions are better than imperative remarks. These four questions are alternatives to the imperative. Wil je met me meegaan, alsjeblieft? - Do you want to come with me, please? Wilt u de deur dicht doen? - Do you want to close the door? Zou je met me mee willen gaan, alsjeblieft? - Would you come with me, please? Zou u met me mee willen gaan, alstublieft? - Would you come with me, please? The formal way to use the imperative is shown below. The subject is u (you, formal). These sentences look like questions very much, but they are not. Gaat u zitten, mevrouw. - Sit down, madam. Gaat u zitten, alstublieft. - Sit down, please. The next sentence is in the imperative. The sentence after that is a question. They look alike very much. The pitch of the speaker’s voice or a question mark shows the difference. Gaat u zitten, meneer. Ik kom zo terug. - (Please) sit down, sir. I’ll be back in a moment. Gaat u zitten, meneer? Waarom? - Are you sitting down, sir? Why? In the following sentences maar is used to soften the tone of the order that is given. It shows some indifference in a small or large degree. Gaat u maar zitten, mevrouw. - (I suggest you) sit down, madam. Ga maar naar binnen. - (I suggest you) go inside. Neem maar een andere pen. - (I suggest you) take another pen. Kom maar wanneer u dat het beste uitkomt. - Just come when it suits you best. The infinitive of a verb is the verb as you can find it in the dictionary. You can use it as an imperative. This can be useful sometimes. Doorlopen. We staan in de weg. - Walk on. We are in the way. Lopen. - Walk. Rennen. - Run. Uitkijken. De weg is glad. - Watch out. The road is icy. Opletten. - Watch out. (or: Attention, in a classroom) Volhouden. Je bent er bijna. - Hold on. You’re almost there. A we-imperative also occurs. Laten we opschieten. - Let’s hurry. Laten we gaan. - Let’s go. Laten we gaan voetballen. - Let’s play soccer. Spelling Summary Simple Present Tense - weak and strong verbs To make the present tense conjugation for ik (I, the first person) remove en of the infinitive. The crude stem is the result. We will start to work with that. Rule 1. If the crude stem ends with a z, remove z and add s. Rule 2. If the crude stem ends with a v, remove v and add f. Rule 3. If the last two letters of the crude stem are two identical consonants (tt, kk, etc.), remove one of the two. Rule 4. When the last syllable of the crude stem is closed (a consonant at the end), and the corresponding vowel of the infinitive is part of an open syllable (when the vowel is at the end of a syllable there), we have caused an unwanted pronunciation change. We can only solve this by making an extra adaptation to the crude stem. We must change the vowel of the crude stem. This can only be from a to aa, e to ee, o to oo, and from u to uu. Example: The crude stem of lopen is lop. The vowel in lop does not sound the same as the corresponding vowel in lopen. Therefore the crude stem lop is changed to loop to solve this. The final result of applying these rules is the conjugation for ik (I). We call this result the stem. kiezen - ik kies - we kiezen - to choose - I choose - we choose leven - ik leef - hij leeft - we leven - to live - I live - he lives - we live bakken - ik bak - we bakken - to bake - I bake - we bake lopen - ik loop - we lopen - to walk - I walk - we walk voelen - ik voel - ze voelt - we voelen - to feel - she feels - we feel To make the present tense conjugation for the other persons in the singular: Take the stem. Add t, except when the verb precedes je or jij To make the present tense conjugation for the plural: Take the infinitive and use it. Simple Past Tense - weak verbs For weak verbs, take the same stem you have made when you worked on the 1st person present tense. Some extra letters are added to this stem to make the past tense of weak verbs. When the sound of the last letter of the crude stem is f, ch, s, t, k, or p, we add te in the singular and ten in the plural. In all the other cases we add de in the singular and den in the plural. voelen - we voelden - to feel - we felt bakken - hij bakte - to bake - we baked You can remember the six sounds by for instance memorising the phrase: “Four Chinese speakers train kind people” Spelling adaptations apply to the singular and the plural. Weak Past Participles When you know a verb is weak, you can find out what the past participle is. make the crude stem of the verb by removing en. Look at the last letter of the crude stem. Six sounds take t-suffixes: f, ch, s, t, k, and p. If the last letter of the crude stem is one of them, it must be a T-verb. The past participle will be: ge + stem + t. Otherwise, it is a D-verb. Then the past participle will be: ge + stem + d. If a double t ending occurs, remove one t. voelen - ik heb gevoeld - to feel - I have felt wachten - ik heb gewacht - to wait - I have waited You can remember the six sounds by for instance memorising the phrase: “Four Chinese speakers train kind people” skip chapter Pronouns A pronoun can replace a noun. In the following example, we replace “The baker” by he and “the customer” by her. De bakker legde de klant alles uit. - The baker explained everything to the customer. Hij legde haar alles uit. - He explained everything to her. When we replace nouns by personal pronouns, we need two lists. The word hij (he) is part of the subjective personal pronouns list. The word haar (her) is part of the objective personal pronouns list. We will talk about the subjective personal pronouns first, in the next paragraph. Subjective Personal Pronouns Subjective personal pronouns are always the subject of the sentence. Examples: Hij kookt. - He cooks. Jij bent belangrijk. - You are important. Zij zijn ook belangrijk. - They are important too. The word u is the formal alternative to je and jij (both singular) and jullie (plural). The word u is used less in the plural than in the singular. The word jullie is preferred in many cases. Subjective Personal Pronouns singular ik I je jij u you you you hij he ze zij she hij het it het it plural wij we we jullie u you you ze zij they Examples: singular Ik ben er. - I’m here. Je bent vroeg. - You’re early. Ze is er ook. - She’s here too. Hij praat snel. - He is talking fast. (literally: He talks fast.) Hij start niet. Het is mijn auto. - He doesn’t start. It’s my car. Het komt wel goed. - It will be okay. plural We zijn kort. - We are short. Jullie gaan vaak samen tennissen. - You often play tennis together. Ze zijn er niet. Ze lopen in het park. - They are not here. They are walking in the park. The next two sentences show that you need a verb to distinguish between she and they in Dutch. Wie heeft je geholpen? Zij heeft me geholpen. - Who helped you? She helped me. Wie heeft je geholpen? Zij hebben me geholpen. - Who helped you? They helped me. Objective Personal Pronouns Objective personal pronouns are not the subject of the sentence. In the next sentence, hem is the objective personal pronoun. Ik ken hem. - I know him. The words mij (me) and ons (us) are objective pronouns and therefore they are never the subject of a sentence. Peter zag mij. - Peter saw him. Hij zag mij. - He saw me. Het is ons overkomen. - It happened to us. The word u is the formal alternative to jou (singular), je (singular), and jullie (plural). Use je instead of jou if you don’t want to stress the word. Objective Personal Pronouns singular me mij me jou je u you you you hem his haar her plural ons us jullie u you you hen hun them Examples: singular De bakker vertelde het aan me. - The baker told me. De bakker vertelde het aan mij. - The baker told me. De bakker vertelde het aan jou. - The baker told you. De bakker vertelde het aan je. - The baker told you. De bakker vertelde het aan u. - The baker told you. De bakker vertelde het aan hem. - The baker told him. De bakker vertelde het aan haar. - The baker told her. plural De bakker vertelde het aan ons. - The baker told us. De bakker vertelde het aan jullie. - The baker told you. De bakker vertelde het aan u. - The baker told you. De bakker vertelde het aan hen. - The baker told them. De bakker vertelde het hun. - The baker told them. To show how to use hun (them), the last sentence had to loose the word aan (to), because it is a preposition. The word hun cannot follow a preposition, when it means them. Other examples: singular Doe het voor mij. - Do it for me. Ik denk aan jou. - I think about you. Dat is vriendelijk van u, mevrouw. - That is kind of you, madam. Zeg het tegen hem. - Say it to him. Het boek is door haar geschreven. - The book is written by her. plural Wie herkent ons in dit dorp? - Who will recognize us in this village? Wat er in die doos zit is voor jullie allemaal. - What is in that box is for you all. Meneer en mevrouw Kuiper, die stoelen zijn voor u. - Mr. and Mrs. Kuiper, those chairs are for you. Ik ben door hen uitgenodigd. - I am invited by them. De bakker gaf hun de broden. - The baker gave the loaves to them. Possessive Pronouns A possessive pronoun indicates that someone owns something. You can say that you own a certain suitcase using the word mijn (my): Dat is mijn koffer. - That is my suitcase. This does not mean ownership in a literally sense. In the next sentence, you do not really say you possess the bus. Mijn bus komt vijf minuten later aan. - My bus will arrive five minutes later. Other examples: Dat is uw stoel. - That is your chair. Hij kamt zijn haar. - He combs his hair. The word uw is the formal alternative to jouw, je, and jullie. Use je instead of jouw if you don’t want to stress the possessive pronoun. Possessive Pronouns singular mijn my jouw je uw your your your zijn haar his her plural ons onze our our jullie uw your your hun their The word ons is used for het-nouns Neem het boek mee. Het is ons boek. - Take the book with you. It’s our book. The word onze is used for de-nouns De tafel is bezet. Is dat onze tafel? - The table is occupied. Is that our table? The word onze is used for plural nouns too. Neem de boeken mee. Het zijn onze boeken. - Take the books with you. They’re our books. De tafels zijn allemaal bezet. Waar zijn onze tafels? - All tables are occupied. Where are our tables? Look for ons and onze in the examples. Examples (singular nouns) Mijn boek ligt op tafel. - My book is at the table. Jouw boek ligt op tafel. - Your book is at the table. Uw boek ligt op tafel. - Uw book is at the table. Zijn boek ligt op tafel. - His book is at the table. Haar boek ligt op tafel. - Her book is at the table. Ons boek ligt op tafel. - Our book is at the table. Jullie boek ligt op tafel. - Your book is at the table. Uw boek ligt op tafel. - Your book is at the table. Hun boek ligt op tafel. - Their book is at the table. mijn tafel - my table jouw tafel - your table uw tafel - your table zijn tafel - his table haar tafel - her table onze tafel - our table jullie tafel - your table uw tafel - your table hun tafel - their table Examples (plural nouns) Mijn boeken liggen op tafel. - My books are at the table. Jouw boeken liggen op tafel. - Your books are at the table. Uw boeken liggen op tafel. - Uw books are at the table. Zijn boeken liggen op tafel. - His books are at the table. Haar boeken liggen op tafel. - Her books are at the table. Onze boeken liggen op tafel. - Our books are at the table. Jullie boeken liggen op tafel. - Your books are at the table. Uw boeken liggen op tafel. - Your books are at the table. Hun boeken liggen op tafel. - Their books are at the table. mijn tafels - my tables jouw tafels - your tables uw tafels - your tables zijn tafels - his tables haar tafels - her tables onze tafels - our tables jullie tafels - your tables uw tafels - your tables hun tafels - their tables Translating English Possessive Pronouns The Dutch language does not have words like mine and yours. They tell about somebody who possesses something in English. When you want to translate them to Dutch, use the word van (of) plus one of the Dutch pronouns that is listed in this paragraph. Example: Dit huis is van mij. - This house is mine. We can replace a noun by a possesive pronoun. In this next sentence the noun “Peter” occurs. We can replace this noun by hem. The word van appears in both sentences, because it is needed. Example: Deze computer is van Peter. - This computer is Peter’s. Deze computer is van hem. - This computer is his. The word van is essential in the following table. singular van mij mine van jou van u yours yours van hem van haar his hers plural van ons ours van jullie van u yours yours van hen theirs Examples: singular Het boek is van mij. - The book is mine. Het boek is van jou. - The book is yours. Het boek is van u. - The book is yours. Het boek is van hem. - The book is his. Het boek is van haar. - The book is hers. plural Het boek is van ons. - The book is ours. Het boek is van jullie. - The book is yours. (plural) Het boek is van u. - The book is yours. (plural) Het boek is van hen. - The book is theirs. The translation of van mij is only mine when we talk about possessions. The word van (of, from, about) is used in other ways too. Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns (dit and dat) refer to persons, objects, and abstract things. Imagine you point at something (or somebody) while you speak. Examples: singular dit is de man - this is the man dat is de man - that is the man dit is de vrouw - this is the woman dat is de vrouw - that is the woman dit is de straat - this is the street dat is de straat - that is the street dit is het huis - this is the house dat is het huis - that’s the house plural dit zijn de vrouwen - these are the women dat zijn de vrouwen - those are the women dit zijn de mannen - these are the men dat zijn de mannen - those are the men dit zijn de straten - these is the streets dat zijn de straten - those is the streets dit zijn de huizen - these is the houses dat zijn de huizen - those are the houses You can refer to an abstract concept like feeling. dat is het gevoel - that is the feeling There are more demonstrative pronouns: deze (these), die (those), zulke (such), dergelijke (such), zoiets (something like that), zo’n (such a). And the almost obsolete gindse (yonder). Example sentences Dat is de straat waar Simon woont. - That is the street where Simon lives. Ik wil zo’n vaas bestellen. - I want to order such a vase. Ik maak ook zulke schilderijen - I also make paintings like that. Demonstrative pronouns used like articles Demonstrative adjectives (dit, dat, deze, and die) can be used instead of the articles de and het. This is only done when you want to make clear a person or thing is close by, or further away. When something or somebody is close to you use dit (this, these) to replace het. use deze (this, these) to replace de. When something or somebody is seen from a distance use dat (that, those) to replace het. use die (that, those) to replace de. First we determine the article of a noun, which is de or het. het meisje - the girl de jongen - the boy de weg - the road het verkeersbord - the traffic sign de verkeersborden - the traffic signs Then, we write dit, dat, deze, or die instead. dit meisje - this girl dat meisje - that girl deze jongen - this boy die jongen - that boy deze weg - this road die weg - that road dit verkeersbord - this traffic sign dat verkeersbord - that traffic sign deze verkeersborden - these traffic signs die verkeersborden - those traffic signs More examples: deze man - this man die man - that man deze vrouw - this woman die vrouw - that woman deze straat - this street die straat - that street dit huis - this house dat huis - that house dit gevoel - this feeling dat gevoel - that feeling Use die and deze in the plural, but do not use dit and dat here. deze vrouwen - these women die vrouwen - those women deze mannen - these men die mannen - those men deze straten - these streets die straten - those streets deze huizen - these houses die huizen - those houses You can place an adjective in between. The letter e must be added to the adjective you choose. In this case the suffix e is added to lang to make lange. deze lange vrouw - this tall woman die lange man - that tall man dat lange meisje - that tall girl dit lange meisje - that tall girl You can leave out the noun sometimes. These are the sentences without the nouns. The pronouns act like the subject here. Deze is nog op slot. - This one is still locked. Die is open. - That one is open. And these are the sentences that include the nouns. Deze schuur is nog op slot. - This shed is still locked. Die doos is open. - That box is open. Note: As you read Dutch texts, you will notice that dat (that) is used more often than dit (this). When you translate the English word this think about it. Relative Pronouns A relative pronoun is used in a clause. A clause is a subsentence of the sentence. English relative pronouns like that and who are often left out. In the English translations in this paragraph, they are included on purpose. When de is the definite article of a noun, we use die (that). When het is the definite article of a noun, we use dat (that). When the subject is hard to define, we use wat (that). When the subject is a person, we use wie (who) after a preposition. When the subject is a person, we use wie (who) if the preposition aan could be added. The following two sentences start the same. The second has a clause, beginning with die. Ik ken alle boeken. - I know all books. Ik ken alle boeken die jij me gegeven hebt. - I know all books that you gave me. Examples: De tafel die je ziet, wordt verkocht. - The table that you see, will be sold. Het boek dat ik lees, gaat over Nederland. - The book that I read, is about the Netherlands. Bedankt voor alles wat je voor me gedaan hebt. - Thanks for everything that you did for me. De vrouw voor wie ik boodschappen doe, woont hier. - The woman for whom I do the shopping, lives here. De koffer die je hebt gekocht, is niet zwaar. - The suitcase that you bought, is not heavy. Het bedrijf dat jij noemt, ken ik niet. - The company that you mention, I don’t know. Dat is iemand die je kunt vertrouwen. - That’s someone who you can trust. Dat is het laatste wat ik vandaag doe. - That’s the last thing that I’ll do today. Dat is iets wat ik niet kan. - That’s something that I cannot do. Mijn zus, die ik gebeld heb, is het ermee eens. - My sister, whom I called, agrees. Dat is haar tante, (aan) wie ze alles heeft verteld. - That is her aunt, (to) whom she told everything. Interrogative Pronouns And a question can start with an interrogative pronoun. The word u is the formal alternative to je and jij. Examples: Wie ben ik? - Who am I? Wie ben je? - Who are you? Wie ben jij? - Who are you? Wie bent u? - Who are you? Wie is dat? - Who’s that? Wie zijn dat? - Who are they? Wat is dat? - What is that? Wat is er kapot? - What is broken? Welk perron hebt u genoemd? - Which platform did you mention? Welke trein hebt u genoemd? - Which train did you mention? Wat voor een apparaat is dat? - What kind of machine is that? Wie zijn apparaat is dat? - Whose machine is that? You can read more about this subject in the chapter about Questions. Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns do not mention a specific person, nor a specific group, nor a specific thing. They are the most vague pronouns a language has. Iemand doet het. - Somebody does it. Er ging iets mis. - Something went wrong. Niemand doet het. - Nobody does it. A pronoun can be replaced by a noun or a noun phrase. A noun is a word. A noun phrase has one or more words. In the following examples, iemand (somebody) is replaced. Iemand doet het. - Somebody does it. Mijn moeder doet het. - My mother does it. De vrouw die daar staat doet het. - The woman who stands over there does it. The word je is very often used as an indefinite pronoun. Normally, it means you. The word je can be used as an indefinite pronoun in formal conversation as well, because of the specific meaning of such a pronoun. Hoe doe je dat? - How is this done? Je maakt het beslag in een kom. - You make (one makes) the batter in a bowl. The indefinite pronoun men is rarely used. Men maakt het beslag in een kom. - One makes the batter in a bowl. The pronouns sommige and andere are used for things. The pronouns are in bold font. The other words (like adjectives) are not. Sommige dingen zijn duur. Andere niet. - Some things are expensive. Others are not. Sommige zijn duur. Andere niet. - Some are expensive. Others are not. Sommige dingen zijn duur. Andere dingen niet. - Some things are expensive. Other things are not. The pronouns sommigen and anderen are used for people. The pronouns are in bold font. The other words are not. Sommige mensen doen dat graag. Anderen niet. - Some people like to do it. Others don’t. Sommigen doen dat graag. Anderen niet. - Some like to do it. Others don’t. Sommige mensen doen dat graag. Andere mensen niet. - Some people like to do it. Other people don’t. The follow sentences are less formal. Een of andere voorbijganger heeft hem beschadigd. - Some person passing by has damaged it. Heeft hij die en die gebeld? - Did he call so-and-so? skip chapter Adverbs Adverbs do not say something about nouns (for example, book and table are nouns), but about other elements of the sentence. In this example, the adverb morgen (tomorrow) says something about the verb komen (to come). Ik kom morgen - I will come tomorrow. In this example, the adverb heel (very) says something about the adjective lang (tall). Het heel lange gras. - The very tall grass. In this example, the adverb heel (very) says something about the adverb vaak (often). Ik reis heel vaak naar België. - I travel to Belgium very often. The next examples show more adverbs. They are always spelled the same. So never add letters to a word that is used as an adverb. Examples: Time Adverbs Ik ga morgen naar huis. - I go home tomorrow. Ik zag jou gisteren. - I saw you yesterday. Ik kook vandaag. - I’ll do the cooking today. Ik kook soms. - I’m used to do the cooking sometimes. Ik kook vaak. - I often do the cooking. Ik kook altijd. - I always do the cooking. Ik nies steeds. - I’m sneezing continually. Dan ben ik jarig. - Then it’s my birthday. Hij is net aangekomen. - He just arrived. Ik heb het pas gehoord. - I’ve heard it recently. Location Adverbs Ik ben hier. - I am here. Ik ga ergens heen. - I will go somewhere. Other Adverbs Ik kom niet. - I will not come. Ik kom misschien. - Maybe, I’ll come. Het is helaas te koud vandaag. - Unfortunately it is too cold today. Ik wil graag een ticket van u. - I would like to receive a ticket from you. Het ging bijna mis. - It almost went wrong. Eigenlijk is deze tas te zwaar. - Properly speaking, this bag is too heavy. Er zijn nog twee koffers. - There are two more suitcases. Because er is an important adverb, it has a paragraph of its own. The adverb er The Dutch word er is used in many ways. It is often translated by there. It appears in sentences where it seems to have no meaning at all, and often, that is true. When we talk about a location, er means there. Er zijn drie schoenwinkels in deze straat. - There are three shoe stores in this street. If you don’t know the subject of the sentence, er helps to construct the sentence. You can also use er, when you don’t want to mention the subject. Er wordt aangebeld. - Somebody is calling at the door. Er wordt niets aan gedaan. - Nothing is done about it. Er is een kraan gerepareerd. - A tap was repaired. Use er to introduce a person or thing. Er is iemand binnengekomen. - Somebody entered. Er kwam iemand langs met een kinderwagen. - Somebody came by with a perambulator. Er is een klant. - A customer has arrived. (literally: There is a customer.) Er is thee. - There’s tea available. The word er can be used as a part of a preposition. Nu giet ik de olie erin. - Now I’m pouring the oil into it. Ik weet er alles van. - I know all about it. Ik ben ervan geschrokken. - I was startled by it. Ik heb er veel aan. - I can benefit from this (thing). Jullie mogen ermee rijden. - You are allowed to drive it. When you mention number and leave out the object, er is needed. Ik heb vier winterbanden gekocht. - I bought four winter tyres. Ik heb er vier gekocht. - I bought four of them. Ik heb een jas gekocht. - I bought a coat. Ik heb er één gekocht. - I bought one. This example shows that er does not always mean there. Er is iets gebeurd. - Something happened. Wat is er gebeurd? - What happened? Wie gaat er mee? - Who will come along? Er zijn honderd exemplaren verkocht. - One hundred copies are sold. But when you need the word there, use daar. Daar is het gebeurd. - It happened over there. Wat is daar gebeurd? - What happened there? When you need the word here, use hier. De schuurmachine staat hier. - The sander is here. The next expression is very common. If you move een muis to the front and leave er out, it sounds uncommon. Er zit een muis in de kast. - There’s a mouse in the cupboard. But if you know the mouse, it is different. Don’t use er and de muis in one expression. De muis zit in de kast. - The mouse is in the cupboard. Two Kinds of Adverbs When a word can only be used as an adverb, we call it an adverb. Examples are: vaak (often) and gisteren (yesterday). Ik reis vaak naar België. - I often travel to Belgium. But many words can also be used as adjectives. Examples are: groen (green) and snel (fast). The word snel (fast) is an adjective, but you can use it as an adverb this way: Deze auto roest snel. - This car rusts quickly. Important: When a word is used as an adverb it is always spelled the same. Adjectives are not always spelled the same, and therefore the chapter about adjectives is more complicated than this one. You can use snel as an adjective, because that is what it really is. Then you get: “de snelle auto” (the fast car). skip chapter Prepositions Prepositions can tell you something about the location of a person or thing. English has prepositions like: on, under, in front of, over, and behind. A preposition can also have an abstract meaning. The prepositions in the following sentences have a literal meaning. You can use them when you talk about tangible things, like boxes, houses, and tables. Hij ligt weer in het water. - He’s in the water again. Kijk door het raam. - Look through the window. Haal het uit de doos. - Take it out of the box. Ik ga naar huis. - I go home. (literally: I go to house.) Ik parkeerde voor de winkel. - I parked in front of the shop. Ze zijn voor ons aangekomen. - They have arrived before us. Zet de kast achter of voor de tafel. - Place the cupboard behind or in front of the table. De pan staat op tafel. - The pan is on the table. Ze heeft op die ladder gestaan. - She was standing on that ladder. Ik steek de straat over. - I cross the street. Dat is de brug over de rivier. - That’s the bridge over the river. Hij zit naast de burgemeester. - He is sitting next to the mayor. Hij woont in Antwerpen. - He lives in Antwerp. Because af does not precede de trap (the stairs), we call it a postposition. Ik ging de trap af. - I went downstairs. Ik fietste de heuvel af. - I cycled down the hill. The following expressions are more abstract. The prepositions do not have a literal meaning here. Ze praat over jou. - She’s talking about you. Dit hoofdstuk gaat over voorzetsels. - This chapter is about prepositions. Kan ik iets voor je doen? - Can I do something for you? Ben jij er ook tegen? - Are you against it too? Ben jij er ook voor? - Are you in favor too? Dat komt door de caravan. - It is caused by the caravan. Ze heeft op een tennisclub gezeten. - She has been a member of a tennis club. Ze heeft het tegen jou. - She’s talking to you. Ze praat tegen jou. - She’s talking to you. Ze praat met jou. - She has a conversation with you. Some archaic prepositions are still in use Auto te water! - Car in the water! ter plaatse - at the spot In formal letters and contracts you can still read phrases like: te Amsterdam - in Amsterdam ter inzage - for you to read (literally: for you to view) ter kennisgeving - for you to know skip chapter Conjunctions Conjunctions can join two sentences together. Coordinating Conjunctions The most simple way to join two sentences, is using a coordinating conjunction, because the word order will not change then. For example, place en (and) between the sentences. Imagine the following situation, first described in two short sentences, and then described in a long one: Hij wil naar huis. - He wants to go home. Hij heeft geen geld. - He has no money. Hij wil naar huis en hij heeft geen geld. - He wants to go home and he has no money. You can replace the word en by other coordinating conjunctions: maar (but), want (because), dus (so the conclusion is), and of (or). Don’t forget to add a comma where it is needed. Hij wil naar huis en hij heeft geen geld. - He wants to go home and he has no money. Hij wil naar huis, maar hij heeft geen geld. - He wants to go home, but he has no money. Hij wil naar huis, want hij heeft geen geld. - He wants to go home, because he has no money. Hij wil naar huis, dus hij heeft geen geld. - He wants to go home, so he has no money. Hij wil naar huis of hij heeft geen geld. - He wants to go home or he has no money. The word maar in two additional examples. Note the word order, which is normal. Ik heb de moersleutel nodig. - I need the spanner. Die is kwijt. - It is lost. Ik heb de moersleutel nodig, maar die is kwijt. - I need the spanner, but it is lost. Ik kom deze week. - I’ll come this week. Ik kom vandaag niet. - I won’t come today. Ik kom deze week, maar ik kom vandaag niet. - I’ll come this week, but I won’t come today. Subordinating Conjunctions Subordinating conjunctions change the word order of the second short sentence, that is used to compound the long sentence. The word omdat means because. Use want (because) if you don’t want the word order to change. You can see below that the word order of the second sentence is changed, when it is joined to the first by omdat. The verb heeft (has) moves to the last position of the sentence. This does not happen in English. Hij wil naar huis. - He wants to go home. Hij heeft geen geld. - He has no money. Hij wil naar huis, omdat hij geen geld heeft. - He wants to go home, because he has no money. You can replace omdat by aangezien. Both mean because. Aangezien is used less frequent. Hij wil naar huis, aangezien hij geen geld heeft. - He wants to go home, because he ran out of money. Hoewel means although. It is used to mention an argument that is ignored. We join the next two sentences: Ik ga niet surfen. - I’m not going to surf. Het is zondag. - It is Sunday. Ik ga niet surfen, hoewel het zondag is. - I’m not going to surf, although it is Sunday. The word als (if) is used to mention a condition that must be met. We join the next two sentences: Ik ga niet surfen. - I’m not going to surf. Het is windstil. - There is no wind. Ik ga niet surfen, als het windstil is. - I’m not going to surf, when there is no wind. The word tenzij (unless) is the opposite of als. If we take the previous sentence and adapt it, we must leave out the word niet (not) to get a logical sentence. Ik ga surfen, tenzij het windstil is. - I’m going to surf, unless there is no wind. behalve als means unless. It is an alternative to tenzij. Ik ga surfen, behalve als het windstil is. - I’m going to surf, unless there is no wind. An alternative translation using the English word except is: Ik ga surfen, behalve als het windstil is. - I’m going to surf, except when there is no wind. toen means when. Ik ging naar huis toen ik honger kreeg. - I went home when I got hungry. You can start a sentence with toen. This kind of sentences is discussed later. More interesting is that although can be avoided. Look at the complicated word order of the hoewel-sentence. Ik ga niet surfen, hoewel het zondag is. - I’m not going to surf, although it is Sunday. And compare this to the easy maar-sentence, which means about the same. Het is zondag, maar ik ga niet surfen. - It is Sunday, but I’m not going to surf. Time Conjunctions Time conjunctions are subordinating conjunctions. voordat means before. Ik ging surfen. - I went surfing. Ik had gegeten. - I had had a meal. Ik ging surfen voordat ik had gegeten. - I went surfing before I had a meal. Ik ging surfen voordat ik gegeten had. - I went surfing before I had a meal. nadat means after. Ik ging surfen nadat ik had gegeten. - I went surfing after I had a meal. Ik ging surfen nadat ik gegeten had. - I went surfing after I had a meal. na means after. If we use it instead of nadat we must change the sentence a little. het eten (the meal) is informal for de maaltijd. Ik ging surfen na het eten. - I went surfing, after the meal. voor means before. The sentence has the same structure as a sentence with na. Ik ging surfen voor het eten. - I went surfing before the meal. Moving Subordinating Conjunctions to the Front You can move a subordinating conjunction to the front. The second subsentence, that belongs to it of course, moves to the front also. The word order is quite different from what we have seen. Just look at the pattern to get used to it. If you make sentences yourself, you can probably avoid complexity like this. Omdat hij geen geld heeft, wil hij naar huis. - Because he ran out of money, he wants to go home. Aangezien hij geen geld heeft, wil hij naar huis. - Because he ran out of money, he wants to go home. Hoewel het zondag is, ga ik niet surfen. - Although it is Sunday, I’m not going to surf. Als het windstil is, ga ik niet surfen. - When there is no wind, I’m not going to surf. Als het windstil is, dan ga ik niet surfen. - When there is no wind, then I’m not going to surf. Tenzij het windstil is, ga ik surfen. - Unless there is no wind, I’m going to surf. Behalve als het windstil is, ga ik surfen. - Unless there is no wind, I’m going to surf. You can start a sentence with a time conjunction. Voordat ik gegeten had, ging ik surfen. - Before I had a meal, I went surfing. Nadat ik gegeten had, ging ik surfen. - After I had a meal, I went surfing. Na het eten ging ik surfen. - After the meal, I went surfing. Voor het eten ging ik surfen. - Before the meal I went surfing. Toen ik honger kreeg, ging ik naar huis. - When I got hungry, I went home. Coordinating Conjunctions are Easy Conjunctions Conjunctions that do not disturb the word order are: en - and maar - but want - because dus - so of - or Just link two normal sentences by a conjunction like this (coordinating conjunctions). Then you will have a correct sentence without word order problems. Sometimes it will also work if the second sentence is a question. Hij is rijk. - He is rich. Is hij intelligent? - Is he intelligent? Hij is rijk, maar is hij intelligent? - He is rich, but is he intelligent? A two questions example: Is hij lang? - Is he tall? Is hij kort? - Is he short? Is hij lang of is hij kort? - Is he tall or is he short? The previous sentence can be abbreviated this way: Is hij lang of kort? - Is he tall or short? skip chapter Other Words Interjections do not contribute to the structure of a sentence. All other parts of speech do. Ja The word ja means yes. You can affirm what is said or answer a question positively. Ga je mee? - Will you come along? Ja, ik ga mee. - Yes, I’ll come along. When someone pronounces the word slowly, he is just thinking. The context must make clear if that’s the case. Ga je mee? - Will you come along? Ja, dat weet ik eigenlijk nog niet. - Well, I don’t know yet. Double ja can show unbelief about what is said. Daar kan je je voorruit mee schoonmaken. - You can clean your windscreen with this. Ja ja. Dat geloof ik niet. - Hm, I don’t believe that. jawel gives a strong (somewhat informal) stress to the word. Je hebt de voordeur niet dichtgedaan. - You did not close the front door. Jawel. Ik weet het zeker. - Oh yes, I’m sure. Nee The word nee means no. You can reject what is said or answer a question negatively. Ga je mee? - Will you come along? Nee, ik ga niet mee. - No, I won’t come along. It depends highly on the person how words like zeg (say), ja or nee are used in different situations. O nee! Mijn fototoestel is gestolen. - O, no! My camera is stolen. Nee zeg! Een vlek op mijn jas . - O, no! A stain on my coat. Nee, meneer. U mag die lift niet gebruiken. - No, sir. You are not allowed to use that elevator. Greetings and Wishes in Spoken Language Here are some ways to say hallo or good bye. Some words come and go. Others last for centuries. You will find some verbs and adverbs in this list, although they are not interjections. Goedemorgen, meneer. - Good morning, sir. Goedemiddag, meneer. - Good afternoon, sir. Goedenavond, mevrouw. - Good night, madam. Hallo. - Hello. Hoi. - Hi. Hi. - Hi. Dag. - Bye. Dag, John. - Hi, John. Doei. - Bye bye. Tot ziens. - See you. Tot morgen. - See you tomorrow. Tot volgende week. - Till next week. Prettig weekend. - Have a nice weekend. Eet smakelijk. - Have a nice meal. Welterusten. - Good night. Gefeliciteerd. - Congratulations.