In Dutch, there are three articles:een (= ‘a(n)’), the indefinite article, and the definite articles de and het (= ‘the’).
We use de for singular masculine or feminine nouns and het with singular neuter nouns. We tend to refer to these nouns as either de words or het words. For plural nouns, we always use de.
Examples:
The woman = De vrouw
The man = De man
The child = Het kind
The men/women/children = De mannen/vrouwen/kinderen
Dutch speakers actually never tend to think about the gender of words. Rather than knowing whether a word is originally feminine or masculine, the only distinction that has to be remembered is the difference between the de words and het words. This is because whether or not we’re dealing with a de word or het word has grammatical consequences (in terms of possessives, question words, demonstratives, adjectives and even relative pronouns). This is why when you learn a new noun, it is very important that you memorize whether it is a de or het word.
These are rules which may help you remember which article to use, but unfortunately there are tons of exceptions to these rules as well:
De-words:
About 75% of the words have the article de and about 25% of the words are thus het words.
De' is always used for the plural
‘De’ is always used for professions: ‘de kok’ (the chef), ‘de bewaker’ (the guard)
‘De’ tends to be used for people with an identified gender, such as: ‘de vader’ (the father), ‘de dochter’ (the daughter).
‘De’ is also used for vegetables, fruits, trees and plants, names of mountains and rivers
Furthermore, 'de' is also used for the words ending with -ie,- ij, -heid, -teit,-a, -nis, -st, -schap, -de, -te, -iek, -ica, -theek, -iteit, -tuur, -stuur, -sis, -xis, -tis, -ade, -ide, -ode, -ude, -age, -ine, -se, -ea, -esse
Finally, ‘de’ is used for written-out numbers and letters: ‘de drie’ (the three); ‘de a’ (the a).
Het-words
'Het' is always used for a diminutive
‘Het’ is also always used for words consisting of two syllables and starting with be-, ge-, ver-, ont-
'Het' is always used for languages, names of metals, words ending with -isme, -ment and for words derived from verbs.
‘Het’ is used for names of compass points: ‘het noorden’ (the North).
'Het' is also used for the gerund: 'het zwemmen' (swimming), 'het dansen' (dancing), etc.
‘Het’ is used for names of sports and games: ‘het schaken’ (chess), ‘het voetbal’ (football)
-Lavinae
Numbers
Pointers & Rules
From 21 upwards, you pronounce the numbers by first saying the units (the single numbers) and then the tens. These units and tens are joined together by en, the conjunction.
Examples: "drieëntwintig" (23) (which features an ë to aid pronunciation); "vijfenzestig" (65); "vierentachtig" (84); "achtennegentig" (98).
The Dutch actually do not use a decimal point but a decimal comma. Thus, you may come across: 2,4%; 1,5 (one and a half); 6,8 (6.8 in English); etcetera.
After the number or quantity you've provided, the following selection of words occurs in its singular form: “centimeter” (centimeter), “meter” (meter), “kilometer” (kilometer), “kilo” (kilo), “liter” (liter), “gram” (gram), “jaar” (year), “uur” (hour) and “euro(cent)” (euro(cent)).
Examples:
“Mag ik drie kilo, alsjeblieft?” = “Can I have three kilos, please?”
“Dit insect is vier centimeter lang.” = “This insect is four centimeters long.”
“Hier woon ik al zes jaar.” = “I’ve already been living here for six years.”
Ordinal numbers
First: the numbers up to 19. These particular numbers are formed by simply attaching -de to the cardinal number.
"tweede" (second), "derde" (third), "tiende" (tenth), "achttiende" (eighteenth) etcetera. Exceptions to this rule are “eerste” (first); “derde” (third) and “achtste” (eighth)
The ordinal numbers of 20 and higher receive -ste as a suffix.
“Het is de dertigste vandaag.” = “It is the thirtieth today.”
“Hij is de achtentwintigste man.” = “He is the twenty-eighth man.”
-Lavinae
Prepositions
Content
Prepositions: introduction
Short overview of the most important prepositions
Prepositions of place
Prepositions of movement
Prepositions of time
Prepositions are short words which indicate a relation between different words in a sentence. This can be a relation of place (Where?), of direction (Where to?) and of time (When?)
Examples of prepositions:
Where? – Het glas staat op de tafel). = The glass is on the table.
Where to? – Zij fietsten van Parijs naar Lyon. = They cycled from Paris to Lyon.
When? – De school opent om 9 uur ‘s morgens. = The school opens at 9 am.
Unfortunately, learning prepositions is never an easy task. However, learning prepositions by means of an example sentence usually helps.
Source: Grammaticawijzer ‘Dutch Grammar at a Glance’, IntertaaL.
On this image you can see a part of the Duolingo world. You can say something about the places of certain things, building, Duo and even the mountains. For example:
The Eiffeltower is in the valley – De Eiffeltoren staat in de vallei.
The Eiffeltower is next to the river – De Eiffeltoren staat naast de rivier.
The Atomium is between the bench and the mountain – Het Atomium staat tussen het bankje en de berg (in).
Duo the owl is opposite the Antomium – Duo de uil staat tegenover het Antomium.
The Brandenburger Tor is at the foot of the mountain – De Brandenburger Tor staat aan de voet van de berg.
Duo de owl is on the top of the mountain – Duo de uil staat bovenop de berg.
The bench is in front of the Atomium – Het bankje staat voor het Atomium.
The mountain is behind the Atomium – De berg is achter het Atomium.
There is nobody on the grass – Er staat niemand op het gras.
Duo the owl is near the flying lingots – Duo de uil is dichtbij/vlakbij de vliegende lingots.
The lingots are flying above the mountain – De lingots vliegen boven de berg
The lanscape is below the sky – Het landschap ligt onder de lucht.
The most important prepositions of place are:
The table below includes an overview of the prepositions of movement:
There are two types of prepositions for denoting a relation in time. There are the prepositions which indicate an established time (think of hours, days, months, years or parts thereof) and prepositions which indicate a period instead.
At an established time
During a period of time
Extra
Prepositions visualized by means of images
-Lavinae
Content
The personal pronouns in their subject forms
The uses of the subject personal pronouns
The personal pronouns in their object forms
The uses of the object personal pronouns
In Dutch, we use (what many Dutch grammarians conventionally refer to as) both stressed and unstressed personal pronouns (of which you can find a more in-depth explanation and discussion here). Anyways, we use both of these forms in spoken and written Dutch. It’s been said that the unstressed pronouns are used more frequently than the stressed variants, but don’t quote dear Team Dutch on that… Below you can find a table which includes the stressed and unstressed forms, or ‘full’ and ‘reduced’ forms (as some linguists prefer, see this discussion), of the personal pronouns:
Beware that the short forms ’k, ie are (generally speaking) not used in writing.
As is the case in English, the second person singular and the third person plural can denote an indefinite pronoun and in our case, these are the je and ze pronouns.
“Dat doe je toch niet!” = “You/One shouldn’t do that!”
“Ze zeggen van wel.” = “They say so.”
On the one hand, some personal pronouns are suited for addressing the people that we know well. These are jij, je and jullie. People you would address with this form could be: family, friends, coworkers and kids.
On the other hand, we also have the formal personal pronoun u. We tend to use this pronoun when we intend to be polite (yes, really) and when addressing strangers. In formal contexts, this pronoun can be used for addressing one person or multiple individuals (in this sense, you could also regard u as the formal form of ‘jullie’, but ‘u’ is not used in this way very often).
“Gaat u mee?” = “Will you go with/along?”
Lastly, when you are referring to an inanimate object, say a ‘thing’ or an ‘idea’, we use the pronoun ‘het’ or ‘hij’. When you refer to a het word as a subject, you use het, and when referring to a de word as a subject, you use hij.
“Waar is het boek?” “Het ligt op de tafel.” = “Where is the book?” “It is on the table.”
“Waar staat de vaas?” “Hij staat in de hoek.” = “Where is the vase?” “It is in the corner.”
In this case, beware that the short forms ’m, ‘r/ ‘dr and ’t are (generally speaking) not used in writing.
When it comes to referring to things, ideas or inanimate objects, we use het and hem. Again, when the word concerned is a het word, we use het. When it is a de word, we use hem.
“Heb je het lied gehoord?” “Nee, ik heb het niet gehoord.” = “Have you heard the song?” “No, I have not heard it.”
“Heb je de deur gesloten?” “Ja, ik heb hem gesloten.” = “Have you closed the door?” “Yes, I have closed it.”
The personal pronoun in the object form hen means ‘them’ and constitutes either the direct object in a sentence or is used after a preposition. It also refers to people**.
“Jij hebt hen gezien?” = “You have seen them?”
“Ik geef het boek aan hen.” = “I give the book to them.”
Now, hun also means ‘them’ and this personal pronoun in the object form is used as an indirect object and one without a preposition. Likewise, hun also refers to people.
“Ik geef hun het boek.” = “I give the book to them.”
(Very) formal contexts excluded, ze (= them) can also be used instead of hen and hun, it referring to people, animals or objects. It is also used after a preposition.
“Wij hebben ze gezien.” = “We have seen them.”
“Jullie geven ze eten?” = “You give them food?”
“Ik doe dit niet voor ze.” = “I do not do this for them.”
-Lavinae
As the title suggests, this grammar explanation thread concerns the difference (in use) between marked and unmarked pronouns. This is really about the difference in Dutch between the pronouns that receive emphasis, and those that do not.
Thusly, we have several pronouns which have a marked/stressed and a standard, unmarked form. These are the ones we’re talking about:
As you may have guessed, the Ik (= I), Hij (= he), and Jullie (= You, plural) forms do not have both a marked and an unmarked version.
When we, the Dutch, feel like emphasizing an inanimate entity, a ‘thing’, which we address with ‘het’ or ‘hij’ (it) and ‘ze’ (they), then we choose to use a demonstrative pronoun.
Anecdote: Interestingly, there’s a difference between the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands and that spoken in Flanders (Flemish) in this respect. Flemish, in fact, uses ‘ze’ for the inanimate feminine nouns. In contrast, in the Netherlands, inanimate entities, or things, are not described as being feminine and generally approached with either the ‘it’ pronoun or the masculine ‘hij’.
Yes, this distinction between different pronouns is not for naught. It actually has a function. We use marked pronouns when we want to emphasize the pronoun. Generally speaking, you’ll use one version or the other depending on the situation you are in. However, in speech there are cases in which an unmarked pronoun fits better than a marked pronoun, and vice versa. You’ll get a feeling for this by learning the language. Also remember not to stress an unmarked pronoun and note this: we use unmarked pronouns more frequently than their marked versions.
Obviously, we first use the right version: zij, or ze, wij, or we, and jij, or je.
However, when we give emphasis to the pronoun we increase our pitch
We also tend to increase our volume, ever so slightly
In addition, the word is also pronounced ‘longer’ (its duration is stretched in comparison to that of the unmarked pronoun). Thus, in contrast, when you’re using an unmarked pronoun, you should emphasize another part of the sentence (instead of the pronoun).
Jij vs. Je (marked vs. Unmarked)
“Jij moet dat doen.” = “You have to do that” (that’s you, and not me!)
“Je moet dat doen.” = “You have to do that” (in order to…)
Zij vs. Ze (marked vs. Unmarked)
“Zij wil vandaag zwemmen.” = “She wants to swim today.” (but I don’t….)
“Ze wil vandaag zwemmen.” = “She wants to swim today.”
Dat vs. Het (marked vs. Unmarked)
“Dat klopt niet.” = “That is not correct”. (something specific is incorrect).
“Het klopt niet.” = “It is not correct”. (something in general is incorrect).
Deze/die vs. Hij (marked vs. Unmarked)
“Deze geeft licht” = “This one gives light”.
“Hij geeft licht” = “It gives light.
Wij vs. we (marked vs. Unmarked)
“Wij komen niet.” = “We are not coming.” (but the others are…)
“We komen niet.” = “We are not coming.”
Zij vs. Ze (marked vs. Unmarked)
“Zij luisteren nooit naar ons.” = “They never listen to us.” (talking about a group in specific)
“Ze luisteren nooit naar ons.” = “They never listen to us.” (talking about some group in general)
Deze/die vs. Ze (inanimate entities/things)
“Deze horen daar niet bij.” = “These ones do not belong with that.”
“Ze horen daar niet bij.” = “They do not belong with that.”
-Lavinae
This may be the conventional way of explaining the difference, but it appears to me that at least for jij/je, zij/ze, wij/we it is misleading. For example, Google Books has almost twice as many hits for "wij zijn" as for "we zijn". This wouldn't make sense if wij were just the stressed/emphasised/marked version of we. Stressed, emphasised and marked are relatively precise linguistic terms which in the majority of uses of wij obviously don't apply.
There is what I consider a much clearer explanation here, in German, from a native Dutch speaker. She refers to the variants as full and reduced and explains that the full version can be either stressed or unstressed, but the reduced version can only be used when the pronoun is unstressed. She also explains that there is a bias towards the full forms in the written language and towards the reduced forms in the spoken language.
This is completely logical as the reduced versions are what comes out naturally when you pronounce the full versions sloppily. This helps to predict/remember some usage distinctions that would otherwise be arbitrary:
Why can't the reduced versions be stressed? - Because stress is incompatible with sloppy pronunciation.
Why can the full versions be unstressed? - Because careful pronunciation doesn't imply stress.
Why is there a preference for the full versions in writing, and an extremely strong one in older literature? - Because the full versions can be thought of (or at least were once thought of) as 'more correct' in the same fuzzy sense in which some native English speakers think of it is as 'more correct' than it's.
Why can some of the reduced versions also stand for more than one pronoun? - Because sloppy pronunciation can make two different words such as jij and jouw sound the same.
PS: When I came back to add a reference to some linguistic literature, I found that this post at -1 with no comments. I think that's bad form. If I am wrong I would love to get an explanation why I am wrong. It's hard to learn from a downvote.
I don't know how to search for literature on Dutch linguistics systematically. Here are quotations from what I found with my unsystematic search:
Marlies van der Velde, The asymmetry of Dutch weak pronouns. This paper is only about object pronouns. (The present post by Lavinae is about subject pronouns.) Still it's interesting to note the terminology she uses: "Dutch has two series of pronouns: a series of full forms (strong pronouns) and a series of reduced forms. The status of these reduced forms is the subject of some debate."
Frank van Eynde, On the notion ‘minor preposition’. "Like French and Italian, Dutch has two types of personal pronouns: the full or tonic ones and the reduced ones [...]. The most conspicuous difference between the two types is a phonological one: while the full pronouns can be stressed, the reduced ones cannot. [...] Next to the phonological and syntactic differences there is also a semantic one. Whereas the full pronouns are always used as the argument of some predicate, be it a verb, a preposition or an adjective, the reduced ones can also be used in positions which are not assigned any semantic role. In other words, the reduced forms may have semantically vacuous uses, whereas the full forms are always referential."
To sum this up, linguists refer to the two kinds of pronouns as full and reduced, or as major and minor, and it appears they have good reasons for this choice of terminology.
-johaquila
When you don’t want to repeat the noun you possess, you can also use the possessive pronouns included below. Mind that depending on the gender and article used for the noun, you use ‘de’ or ‘het’ and that there is no such form for ‘jullie’:
Example sentences of the different possessive pronoun forms:
It is mine – Het is van mij/Het is de mijne
The car is yours – De auto is van jou/De auto is van jullie/De auto is de jouwe
The pants are ours – De broek is van ons/De broek is de onze.
Another way in which you can indicate possession in Dutch, like the ‘s form in English, is by adding –s to the end of proper names and members of the family. If there will be pronunciation issues, the [ s ] will receive a [ ‘ ] in front. If pronunciation is no issue, the –s is simply stuck to the end of the name/noun:
John’s book – Jans boek
Grandma’s car – oma’s auto
In Dutch, in more colloquial speech it is also possible to use the unstressed forms of the possessive adjectives instead of the –s form. The unstressed forms of the possessive adjectives are as follows:
mijn = m'n
jouw = je
zijn = z'n
haar = d'r
ons = ons
jullie = je
hun = hun
Examples:
John’s book – Jan zijn/z’n boek
Grandma’s car – Oma haar/d’r auto
-Lavinae
There's a catch though. 'Jullie = je' only seems to work when 'jullie' is the subject. "Waar hebben jullie je spullen gelaten?" vs. "Waar hebben jullie jullie spullen gelaten?". It would not be okay in other ways. Wrong: "Waar zijn je spullen? Ik heb ze jullie net gegeven?".
Also never ever write d'r in formal situations. To me it just looks way too colloquial. More so than if you would write the others, as they are more just shortered versions. With haar/d'r there is a total sound change (H vs. D).
Often when you say z'n or d'r in speach you still write zijn or haar when transcribing, because it looks neater.
-Aronvanstek
The Dutch possessive pronouns cannot refer to plurals, right? The object it refers to is always singular, unlike in English. Please correct me if that is wrong, but otherwise it might be worth adding to this page.
-Simius
Well, to answer the question 3 years later... Yes, they can. Just use 'zijn' instead of 'is'.
Het is niet mijn boek, maar de jouwe.
Het zijn niet mijn boeken, maar de jouwe.
-xMerrie
This mixes plurals with singulars too. "Het is niet haar probleem, maar het onze."
"Dit zijn niet jullie zaken, maar de mijne."
-weerwater
JOUW and JOU are pronounced a little bit differently, but these words are used in different situations so there is no confusion. For example: Het is jouw fiets AND die fiets is van jou. And about your second question: Is it VAN HEN or VAN HUN. Officially it is VAN HEN, but locally, like in Amsterdam, people say: VAN HUN
-FreekVerkerk
Below you can find the Dutch past simple, or the imperfect, conjugation forms:
As the conjugation table above may indicate, the past simple conjugations of the Dutch verbs have two main variants: the stem + – te(n) verbs and stem + -de(n) verbs. Whereas the singular verb conjugation forms end with –te or –de, the plural verb conjugation forms end with –ten or –den.
When does a verb end with –te(n)/-de(n)?
If the stem’s last letter is one of the consonants of the word ’t kofschip, so a t, k, f, s, ch or p, then the verb will be conjugated with –te(n).
If the stem’s last letter is another consonant (so not one of those listed above), the verb will be conjugated with –de(n)
The most important irregular verbs in the past simple are hebben (to have) and zijn (to be). Below you can find their past simple conjugations:
As you may have noticed, these verb conjugations really also only have two forms, depending on whether the subject is singular or plural: was (singular) vs. waren (plural) and had (singular) vs. hadden (plural).
Other verbs which are irregular in the past simple tense are, for example:
brengen – bracht: to bring – brought
komen – kwam: to come – came
moeten – moest: to have to – had to
weten – wist: to know – knew
There is also a large group of verbs in which undergo a vowel change for the past simple, such as:
zingen – zong: to sing - sang
bidden – bad: to pray – prayed
Unsurprisingly, the Dutch past simple is used for describing events which have taken place in the past or a previous situation.
This tense is also used in the narration of a series of actions, events or situations which have taken place in the past.
It is used when we are talking about habits or actions, events and situations that have been repeated or taken place multiple times, in the past.
Lastly, the past simple can also be used for expressing an unreal condition in the present or future.
Example: “Als ik een zoon had, was ik een moeder.” = “If I had a son, I would be a mother.”
Useful to know: The adverb 'toen' usually introduces the past simple.
Examples:
Toen ging ik naar school = I went to school (back) then.
Toen deed hij dat = He did that (back) then.
-Lavinae
In Dutch, you use the words "niet" and "geen" when negating things.
”geen”
"geen" is used to negate a noun that, if not negated, would be preceded by "een".
Is dat een koe? - Nee, dat is geen koe.
(Is that a cow? - No, that is not a cow.)
It can also negate nouns that aren't preceded by any article, like some nouns in the plural and uncountable nouns.
Hebben jullie boeken? - Nee, we hebben geen boeken. + (Do you have books? - No, we don't have books.)
”niet”
"niet" is essentially used in all other situations:
to negate verbs, thoughts, adjectives and any other sentence elements that aren't nouns:
Ik ren niet. - I do not run.
Ik niet. - Not me.
Hij is niet zo oud. - He is not that old.
to negate nouns preceded by a definite article or possessive pronoun:
Nee, dat is niet mijn boek. - No, that is not my book.
Nee, hij was niet de burgemeester. - No, he was not the mayor.
Where does "niet" go in a sentence?
It depends on what you are negating. If you're trying to negate something particular like an adverb or adjective, then it's best to put "niet" right before it.
Mijn rok is niet geel. - My skirt is not yellow.
Ik eet niet altijd vis. - I do not always eat fish.
In most other cases, "niet" comes after the "middle part" of the sentence - where you usually have the time, manner and place.
Ik heb hem gisteren (time) niet gezien. - I did not see him yesterday.
Ik heb door het lawaai (manner) niet kunnen slapen. - I could not sleep due to the noise.
Put "niet" here, and you will likely be right.
Despite the "place" usually being in the middle part of a sentence, "niet" usually comes before it when it indicates a direction.
Wij gaan niet naar huis. - We are not going home.
However, if you put "niet" in front of the time, manner and place, then you are stressing that it was not then that I did it (but later), that it was not there that I did it (but here), or I didn't do it like that (but like this).
Hij gaat niet vandaag naar de maan, maar morgen. - He is not going to the moon today, but tomorrow.
Wij gaan niet met jullie, maar met hen. - We are not going with you, but with them.
Exercises
Here are some exercises that may help you with negation in Dutch:
http://dutch.tolearnfree.com/free-dutch-lessons/free-dutch-exercise-68356.php
http://dutch.tolearnfree.com/free-dutch-lessons/free-dutch-exercise-41973.php
http://dutch.tolearnfree.com/free-dutch-lessons/free-dutch-exercise-86981.php
-Kai_E.
EXTERNAL LINKS/SORCES (the only one that would load, sorry)
Here we have gathered the material that we have found helpful for anyone studying Dutch. If you have any good suggestions, feel free to post them here and we will add them to this opening post :)
Jane's Dutch Learning Resources List
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mWJutfXYycrPzyATO8uy4IbTXXVsEF4zoHPFCk_MMtY/edit
Reputable Dutch grammar books
"A Practical Dutch Grammar", by Yolande Spaans
"Klare Taal!", by Jenny van der Toorn-Schutte
Website that provides grammar explanations:
Supplementary Dutch courses:
Dutch reading/television content:
Note: Check this website http://www.2bdutch.nl, which provides subtitles (in English, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese) to Dutch videos
Pronunciation help:
Dutch (help) forums:
Youtube:
Good site for the tougher questions (all in Dutch):
User suggestions for Dutch music to listen to
All Dutch radio channels:
http://www.100p.nl/web/ - Dutch artists
http://www.radionl.fm/ - Actual Dutch music
Dutch radio channels which also play other music:
http://www.538.nl/radio Select 'via de computer', on the right. This will give you a pop-up.
-Lavinae
That was kind of messy, sorry. Not all of the links would load, and the pictures wouldn't work. Lavinae is who made most of these posts. I hope that they help!