Dutch Courses » Beginner’s Course » Part 3


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) sometimes shows disagreement or amazement. 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.


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.



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



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.

12345
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.

    phrasefinite verbnoun (the subject)phrasephrasedot
    Deze weekpraatteikmet mijn vaderdoor de telefoon.
    Op tien oktoberverfdeikde krukmet 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.

    phrasefinite verbsubject (a noun,
    or a noun phrase)    		phrasephrasedot
    Deze weekpraatteikmet mijn vaderdoor de telefoon.
    Deze weekpraattemijn oudste broermet mijn vaderdoor de telefoon.
    Op tien oktoberverfdeikde krukmet 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
      Hijverfdede kruk met een kwast .
     Verfdehij de kruk met een kwast ?
    Met een kwastverfdehij de kruk   .
      Hijheeftde kruk met een kwastgeverfd.
     Heefthij de kruk met een kwastgeverfd?
    Met een kwastheefthij de kruk  geverfd.
      Hijheeftde krukhiermet een kwastgeverfd.
    Hierheefthij de kruk met een kwastgeverfd.

    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.



    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.

    0nul 
    1een11elf21eenentwintig
    2twee12twaalf22tweeëntwintig
    3drie13dertien23drieëntwintig
    4vier14veertien24vierentwintig
    5vijf15vijftien25vijfentwintig
    6zes16zestien26zesentwintig
    7zeven17zeventien27zevenentwintig
    8acht18achttien28achtentwintig
    9negen19negentien29negenentwintig
    10tien20twintig30dertig


    10tien11elf
    20twintig21eenentwintig
    30dertig31eenendertig
    40veertig41eenenveertig
    50vijftig51eenenvijftig
    60zestig61eenenzestig
    70zeventig71eenenzeventig
    80tachtig81eenentachtig
    90negentig91eenennegentig
    100honderd101honderdeen


    10tien11elf
    100honderd153honderddrieënvijftig
    1.000
         		duizend
         		1.030
    1.250    		duizenddertig
    twaalfhonderdvijftig
    10.000tienduizend13.469dertienduizend vierhonderdnegenenzestig
    100.000honderdduizend375.003driehonderdvijfenzeventigduizend drie
    1.000.000een miljoen4.023.086vier miljoen drieëntwintigduizend zesentachtig
    10.000.000tien miljoen14.000.000veertien miljoen
    100.000.000honderd miljoen180.000.000honderdtachtig miljoen
    1.000.000.000miljard6.000.000.000zes 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)

    1eeerste11eelfde21eeenentwintigste
    2etweede12etwaalfde22etweeëntwintigste
    3ederde13edertiende23edrieëntwintigste
    4evierde14eveertiende24evierentwintigste
    5evijfde15evijftiende25evijfentwintigste
    6ezesde16ezestiende26ezesentwintigste
    7ezevende17ezeventiende27ezevenentwintigste
    8eachtste18eachttiende28eachtentwintigste
    9enegende19enegentiende29enegenentwintigste
    10etiende20etwintigste30edertigste


    10etiende11eelfde
    40eveertigste41eeenenveertigste
    60ezestigste62etweeënzestigste
    100ehonderdste101e
    153e    		honderdeerste (honderd en eerste)
    honderddrieënvijftigste
    1.000e
         		duizendste
         		1.030e
    1.250e    		duizenddertig
    twaalfhonderdvijftigste
    10.000etienduizendste13.469edertienduizend vierhonderdnegenenzestigste
    100.000ehonderdduizendste375.003edriehonderdvijfenzeventigduizend en derde
    1.000.000emiljoenste4.023.086evier miljoen drieëntwintigduizend zesentachtigste
    10.000.000etien miljoenste14.000.000eveertien miljoenste
    100.000.000ehonderd miljoenste180.000.000ehonderdtachtig miljoenste
    1.000.000.000emiljardste6.000.000.000ezes 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 10Molenweg tienstreet
    Van Dijkstraat 10aVan Dijkstraat tien astreet
    3425 KAvierendertig vijfentwintig KAPostal Code
    070-4253896nul zeventig, vier twee vijf drie acht negen zestelephone number
    06-42538960nul zes, vier twee vijf drie acht negen zes nultelephone number

    Time

    Clock times are pronounced this way:

    8:00acht uur
    8:05vijf over acht
    8:15kwart over acht (better than: vijftien over acht)
    8:20tien voor half negen
    8:30half negen
    8:35vijf over half negen
    8:45kwart voor negen (better than: vijftien voor negen)
    8:50tien voor negen
    10:00tien uur ’s morgens - ten o’clock in the morning
    13:00een uur ’s middags - one o’clock in the afternoon
    20:00acht uur ’s avonds - eight o’clock in the evening
    0:00twaalf uur ’s nachts - twelve o’clock at night
    0:00middernacht - 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




    Syllables

    Splitting a word into syllables can help you 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): taakaa is one vowel, and is not split
    takken (branches): tak-kenall syllables are closed, kk is split (a is dull)
    reis (journey): reisei 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-penonly the third syllable is open
    vrachtauto (truck): vracht-au-tocompound word, t joins the first syllable
    vracht (freight): vrachtone 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.





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