21.

Possessive Adjectives

Singular Plural
mijn my ons / our
(m'n) your onze your
jouw (informal) jullie (informal)
(je) your (je) your
uw (polite) uw (formal)
zijn
his
(z'n)
her hun their
haar
its
zijn

Ons is used before singular neuter nouns, and onze is used elsewhere (before singular
common nouns, and all plural nouns.) Je, the unstressed form of jouw, is commonly used
in spoken and written Dutch, unless the speaker/writer wants to stress the pronoun. In the
plural, jullie is the norm, unless jullie has already been used in the sentence. Then je is
used to avoid the redundancy. The other unstressed forms are not commonly written, but
are commonly spoken.

Like in English, Dutch possessive adjectives are used in front of a noun to show
possession: mijn boek (my book). There are a few ways to express the -'s used in English
too. -s can be added to proper names and members of the family: Jans boek (John's
book) The preposition van can be used to mean of: het boek van Jan (the book of John
= John's book) And in more colloquial speech, the unstressed forms in parentheses above
(agreeing in gender and number) can be used in place of the -s: Jan z'n boek (John's
book)

To form the possessive pronouns, add -e to the stressed forms (except for jullie) and use
the correct article. The only way to show possession with jullie is to use van jou (literally
meaning "of you"), although all the others can be used with van too.

de/het mijne, jouwe, uwe, zijne, hare, onze, hunne (mine, yours, yours, his/its, hers,
ours, theirs)

22. To Do and to Make

doen - to do maken - to make

doe doo doen doon maak mahk maken mah-kuh
doet doot doen doon maakt mahkt maken mah-kuh
doet doot doen doon maakt mahkt maken mah-kuh
Expressions with doen:

doen alsof - to act as though

doen denken aan - to remind of
dichtdoen - to close
opendoen - to open
doen pijn - to hurt, cause pain

23. Work

actor acteur
actor (stage) toneelspeler
author/writer schrijver
baker bakker
bookkeeper boekhouder
bookseller boekhandelaar
butcher slager
cashier kassameisje
dentist tandarts
doctor dokter
engineer ingenieur
hairdresser kapper
journalist journalist
judge rechter
lawyer advocaat
mail man postbode
mechanic monteur
musician muzikant
nurse verpleger
office worker kantoormedewerker
officer officier
painter schilder
photographer fotograaf
salesperson verkoper
secretary secretaris
singer zanger
soldier soldaat
surgeon chirurg
 teacher leraar

24. Prepositions

over
about in
boven / over in, over (used with time)
above / in front of
volgens voor
over inside /
na binnen
according within
tegen ondanks
to in spite of
langs bij
after near
rond(om) naast
against next to
bij, om, aan van
along of
vanwege op / aan
around on top of /
voor tegenover
at on
achter uit
because of opposite
tussen sinds, sedert
before out (of)
met, door door
behind since
gedurende, aan, naar(toe) (direction
between through
tijdens towards something)
by to
behalve voor onder
during under
tot, totdat
except for until
voor met
for with
van, uit, zonder
from without
vandaan

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

25. Countries and Nationalities

Country Nationality (masc. / fem.)

Africa Afrika Afrikaan / Afrikaanse
America Amerika Amerikaan / Amerikaanse
Argentina Argentini Argentijn / Argentijnse
Asia Azi Aziaat
Austria Oostenrijk Oostenrijker / Oostenrijkse
 Belgium Belgi Belg / Belgische
Brazil Brazili Braziliaan / Braziliaanse
China China Chinees / Chinese
Denmark Denemarken Deen / Deense
England Engeland Engelsman / Engelse
Europe Europa Europees / Europese
France Frankrijk Fransman / Franaise
Germany Duitsland Duitser / Duitse
Great Britain Groot Brittani Brit / Britse
Greece Griekenland Griek / Griekse
Holland Holland Hollander / Hollandse
Hungary Hongarije Hongaar / Hongaarse
India India Indir / Indische
Ireland Ierland Ier / Ierse
Italy Itali Italiaan / Italiaanse
Japan Japan Japanner / Japanse
Netherlands Nederland Nederlander / Nederlandse
Norway Noorwegen Noor / Noorse
Poland Polen Pool / Poolse
Portugal Portugal Portugees / Portugese
Russia Rusland Rus / Russin
Spain Spanje Spanjaard / Spaanse
Sweden Zweden Zweed / Zweedse
Switzerland Zwitserland Zwitser / Zwitserse
Turkey Turkije Turk / Turkse
United States Verenigde Staten Amerikaan / Amerikaanse

The feminine form of many occupations and nationalities is indicated by one of five
endings. For most nationalities, -e is added, as in Nederlandse (Dutch woman). The
endings -in, -es, -esse and -ster are also used to form female counterparts. -ster is added
to verbs while -esse replaces the -is ending of some nouns.

boer - boerin (farmer - female student - studente (male student - female

farmer/farmer's wife) student)
leeuw - leeuwin (lion - lioness) secretaris - secretaresse (male secretary -
koning - koningin (king - queen) female secretary)
Rus - Russin (Russian man - bibliothekaris - bibliothekaresse (male
Russian woman) librarian - female librarian)
leraar - lerares (male teacher - schrijf - scrijfster (write - female author)
female teacher) verpleeg - verpleegster (nurse - female
prins - prinses (prince - princess) nurse)
26. Negative Sentences

The word niet (not) is used to negate sentences, and is generally placed at the end of the
clause. However, niet precedes a preposition, an adjective that follows a noun, and the
words binnen (inside), buiten (outside), beneden (downstairs), boven (upstairs) and
thuis (at home).

Een is usually not preceded by niet or any phrase ending with niet (ook niet - not either,
nog niet - not yet). Instead, geen, ook geen and nog geen replace the article. Geen is
translated by not a, not any or no when followed by a noun in English. Geen also negates
nouns that cannot be counted, such as water, bier and wijn.

Jan leest niet. Jan does not read.

Hij werkt volgende week ook niet. He is not working next week either.
Ik wil geen kopje koffie. I don't want a cup of coffee.
Zij hebben nog geen huis gevonden. They have not found a house yet.

27.To Come and to Go

komen - to come gaan - to go

kom kawm komen koh-muh ga gah gaan gahn
komt kawmt komen koh-muh gaat gaht gaan gahn
komt kawmt komen koh-muh gaat gaht gaan gahn

Expressions with komen and gaan:

How komt het dat.. ? How is it that.. ?

Hoe gaat het met u? How are you?
Het gaat me goed. I am fine.
gaan zitten - to sit down, be seated

28. To and From Countries and Cities

to naar
from uit

Ik kom uit Nederland. I come from the Netherlands.

Zij gaat naar New York. She's going to New York.
29. Conjugating Regular verbs

English has three ways of expressing the present tense, such as I run, I am running, I do
run.  All three of these tenses are translated as one tense in Dutch. Most verbs are regular
in Dutch in the present tense, and it is formed by using the verb stem (the infinitive minus
the -en), and adding these endings (Note that there is no ending for the first person
singular form, and all the plural forms are identical to the infinitive):

Verb drinken - to
endings drink
- -en drink drinken
-t -en drinkt drinken
-t -en drinkt drinken

There is, however, an alternative present tense to express an action that is currently
happening: use zijn aan het with the infinitive. Ik ben aan het koken would translate as
I am cooking (right now.)

The perfect tense in English of expressions of "for," "since" and "how long?" are
rendered by the present tense in Dutch:
Ik woon hier al vijf jaar. I have lived here for five years.
Hij werkt sinds april met zijn broer. He has been working with his brother since April.

Graag is an adverb used with verbs to express "to like to.." instead of using the verb
houden van, which literally means to like or love.

To form questions, simply invert the subject and verb. For the second person singular
form (jij), the -t ending of the conjugated verb is dropped. Dutch does not have an
equivalent of the English "do" in questions, so Woon jij in Rotterdam? means Do you
live in Rotterdam? although it literally is Live you in Rotterdam?

30. Irregularities in Regular verbs 

When you add the present tense endings, you must observe the regular spelling rules in
Dutch. Words with long vowels (aa, ee, oo, and uu) drop the one vowel when another
syllable is added. Words with the short vowels (a, e, i, o and u) double the following
consonant to keep the vowels short. The letters f and s occur at the end of words or before
consonants, while the letters v and z occur in the middle of words before vowels.

ik jij, hij, wij, jullie,

Infinitive Stem
form etc. etc.
betalen to pay betaal betaal betaalt betalen
 to stay
to hope
blijven to blijf blijf blijft blijven
hopen guess hoop hoop hoopt hopen
raden to raad raad raadt raden
geloven believe geloof geloof gelooft geloven
schrijven to write schrijf schrijf schrijft schrijven
kiezen to kies kies kiest kiezen
haten choose haat haat haat haten
leven to hate leef leef leeft leven
lezen to live lees lees leest lezen
praten to read praat praat praat praten
rijden to talk rijd rijd rijdt rijden
wassen to ride was was wast wassen
gaan to wash ga ga gaat gaan
staan to go sta sta staat staan
slaan to sla sla slaat slaan
stand
to hit

One verb that does not follow the spelling rule is komen. The singular forms are all
written and pronounced with the short o, while the plural forms are written and
pronounced with the long o: kom, komt and komen. (According to the spelling rules, the
singular forms should be the long o, but they are not.)

There are five verbs whose ending is only -n: gaan (to go), staan (to stand), slaan (to
hit), doen (to do) and zien (to see); the first three change according to the spelling rules.

If a stem ends in -t, you do not add another -t for the second and third person singular
forms. zitten - to sit; hij zit - he sits

Verb stems that end in -oud and -ijd drop the -d in the first person singular and in
question forms of the second person singular form. The -d can be written, but it is not
pronounced. rijden - to ride; ik rij(d) - I ride; rij(d) jij? - do you ride?

31. Modal Verbs

In Dutch, there are four modals: kunnen - to be able to, can; moeten - to have to, must;
mogen - to be allowed to, may; and willen - to want to. Modals can be used with other
infinitives without the use of prepositions.

  kunnen moeten mogen willen

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

The -t of kunt and wilt are dropped in inversions with jij, but not with moet. Kan and kunt
are used interchangeably for the second person singular form of kunnen.

Common verbs, such as doen and gaan, can be omitted in Dutch after modals, but not in
the English translation. In addition, impersonal constructions with het/dat + modals are
used. Dat kan. That's possible/can be done.
Het moet. It must be done.

When modals are used with other verbs, the other verb is in the infinitive and placed at
the end of the clause or sentence.

32. Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs express an action that reciprocates back to the subject. In other words,
whoever is speaking is doing an action to himself. Examples in English would be: I wash
myself, he hurts himself, we hate ourselves. The reflexive pronouns always follow the
subject and verb.

Reflexive Pronouns

me ons
je / u je
zich zich

The reflexive pronoun u is often replaced by zich to avoid the double occurrence of u.

Verbs that are always reflexive

zich afvragen ask oneself

zich bevinden find oneself
zich ergeren get annoyed by
zich gedragen behave
zich generen be embarrassed
zich haasten hurry
zich remember
herinneren recover
 zich herstellen
zich schamen
be ashamed of
voor
be mistaken
zich vergissen
about
in
look forward to
zich
oversleep
verheugen op
imagine,
zich verslapen
introduce oneself
zich
voorstellen

Verbs that can be reflexive or used with other direct objects

get dressed
aankleden enjoy oneself
amuseren move
bewegen make angry
ergeren get excited
opwinden shave (oneself)
scheren cut oneself
snijden undress
uitkleden (oneself)
verbazen be amazed
verdedigen defend oneself
verkleden change clothes
verontschuldig excuse
en oneself/apologi
verschuilen ze
vervelen hide (oneself)
voelen to be bored
wassen feel
wash (oneself)

Emphatic Forms

mezelf onszelf
jezelf jezelf
zichzelf zichzelf

The emphatic forms of the reflexive pronouns can only be used with the verbs that can be
reflexive or used with other direct objects, and never with verbs that are always reflexive.

Elkaar is used when there is a reciprocal meaning of "each other" in English.

33. Verbs followed by Prepositions

afhangen van depend on

bang zijn voor be afraid of
deelnemen aan take part in
denken aan think of/about
feliciteren met congratulate on
gebrek hebben aan be short of
herinneren aan remind
houden van like, love (things or people)
huilen om cry at/about
kijken naar look at/watch
lachen om laugh at
letten op pay attention to
lijden aan suffer from
luisteren naar listen to
praten/spreken met talk to
reageren op react to
rekenen op rely on
sterven aan die of
trek/zin hebben in want
trouwen met marry
twijfelen aan doubt
vragen om ask for
weten van know about
zeggen tegen say to
zorgen voor care for

34. Separable Prefixes

aan- af- binnen- in- na- onder- over- toe- voor-

achter- bij- door- mee- om- op- tegen- uit- -weg

When verbs with separable prefixes are conjugated, the prefixes go to the end of the
clause or sentence. For example, uitgaan (to go out) and weggaan (to go away):

Gaan jullie niet meer uit? Don't you go out anymore?

Hij gaat vandaag weg. He's going away today.
35. Inseparable Prefixes

be- ont- ge-

her- ver- er-

These prefixes always remain attached to their infinitives.  The inseparable prefixes are
unstressed syllables, as compared to the separable prefixes, of which most can stand
alone as prepositions. -ann, -onder, -over, -door, -voor and -om can also be inseparable
prefixes if they are unstressed.

36. Present Perfect or Past Indefinite Tense

This tense is used more often than the simple past, especially in conversation, and is
equivalent to I have asked or I asked.  Regular verbs use a form of hebben or zijn and a
past participle.  Past participles are made by adding ge- to the beginning of the verb stem
and -t or -d to the end.   Verb stems are the infinitives minus the -en, with the appropriate
spelling changes. The stems are identical to the first person singular present tense form.

-t is added to stems ending in t, k, f, s, ch, and p (note that if the stem ends in -t already,
you do not double the consonant), while -d is added to all other stems, except those
already ending in -d. (If a stem ends in -f or -s, but the infinitive contained -v or -z, then
still add a -d)

Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add ge- in this tense. Verbs with separable
prefixes add the ge after the prefix and before the stem (afgemaakt).

Verb Stem Past Participle

hopen to hope hoop gehoopt
maken to make maak gemaakt
blaffen to bark blaf geblaft
missen to miss mis gemist
dromen to dream droom gedroomd
bellen to ring bel gebeld
loven to praise loof geloofd
vrezen to be vrees gevreesd
praten afraid praat gepraat
koken to talk kook gekookt
blaffen to cook blaf geblaft
kuchen to bark kuch gekucht
bouwen to cough bouw gebouwd
horen to build hoor gehoord
 to hear
to burn
branden to mean brand gebrand
bedoelen to bedoel bedoeld
bepraten discuss bepraat bepraat
geloven to geloof geloofd
verhuizen believe verhuis verhuisd
afmaken to move af...maak afgemaakt
house
to finish

Hebben vs. Zijn

Some verbs of motion can take either hebben or zijn depending on whether it is the action
that is stressed (hebben) or the destination/direction (zijn.) Verbs taking zijn are generally
intransitive (they do not take direct objects) and denote a change in motion/position or
change in state/condition. Most verbs derived from zijn verbs also take zijn in the perfect
tense.

Modals
The past participles of the modals (kunnen: gekund; moeten: gemoeten; mogen:
gemoogd, willen: gewild) are only used when the modal is used independently of another
verb.
Ik heb het gemoeten. I had to (do it).

If the perfect tense of a modal is used with another verb, then the past participle of the
modal is replaced by its infinitive. This double infinitive construction (infinitive of modal
+ other infinitive) is always placed at the end of the clause or sentence.
Ik heb gisteren kunnen komen. I was able to come yesterday.

37. Irregular Past Participles

  Infinitive Past Participle

begin beginnen begonnen
understand begrijpen begrepen
offer bieden geboden
remain blijven gebleven
break breken gebroken
bring brengen gebracht
think denken gedacht
do doen gedaan
drink drinken gedronken
eat eten gegeten
go gaan gegaan
give geven gegeven
have hebben gehad
help helpen geholpen
be called heten geheten
hold houden gehouden
look kijken gekeken
come komen gekomen
buy kopen gekocht
get krijgen gekregen
can, be able to kunnen gekund
let laten gelaten
read lezen gelezen
lie liggen gelegen
walk lopen gelopen
must, have to moeten gemoeten
may mogen gemogen
call roepen geroepen
write schrijven geschreven
sleep slapen geslapen
hit slaan geslagen
stand staan gestaan
speak spreken gesproken
die sterven gestorven
forget vergeten vergeten
lose verliezen verloren
find vinden gevonden
ask vragen gevraagd
know weten geweten
show wijzen gewezen
want willen gewild
become worden geworden
say zeggen gezegd
see zien gezien
be zijn geweest
sing zingen gezongen
sit zitten gezeten
look for zoeken gezocht
 38. Zijn Verbs

A few common verbs take zijn instead of hebben in the present perfect tense:

to stop
to stay
blijven stoppen/ophouden to
to
blijken verdwijnen disappear
appear/seem
gaan verschijnen to appear
to go
gebeuren worden to
to happen
komen zijn become
to come
to be

39. Food and Meals

breakfast ontbijt (n) bread brood (n)

lunch middagmaal (n), lunch pepper peper
dinner avondeten (n) salt zout (n)
glass glas (n) ice ijs
fork vork vinegar azijn
spoon lepel oil olie
knife mes (n) sugar suiker
napkin servet (n) butter boter
plate bord (n) table tafel
silverware bestek (n) dish schotel
tea thee juice sap
steak biefstuk water water
cake taart / cake / koek wine wijn
ice cream roomijs (n) beer bier (n)
coffee koffie beverage drank
pie vlaai milk melk
mustard mosterd egg ei (n)
rice rijst honey honing
jam jam snack snack, tussendoortje
soup soep cheese kaas
salad salade cookies koekje

40. Fruits, Vegetables and Meats

 vrucht cabbage kool
fruit
pineapple ananas pumpkin pompoen
apple appel olive olijf
apricot abrikoos radish radijs
banana banaan lettuce sla
pear peer tomato tomaat
strawberry aardbei onion ui
raspberry framboos meat vlees (n)
cherry kers veal kalfsvlees (n)
lime limoen lamb lam (n)
lemon citroen beef rundvlees (n)
orange sinaasappel ham ham
peach perzik pork varkensvlees (n)
grapes druif bacon bacon
vegetables groente sausage worst
cauliflower bloemkool poultry pluimvee (n)
bean boon duck eend
pea erwt goose gans
cucumber komkommer chicken kip
carrot wortel, peen turkey kalkoen
potato aardappel fish vis

The National Anthem of the Netherlands: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe

By Marnix van St. Aldegonde (2 stanzas out of 15)

Wilhelmus van Nassouwe ben ik van Duitsen bloed

den vaderland getrouwe blijf ik tot in den dood.
Een Prinse van Oranje ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd.

Mijn schild ende betrouwen zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,

op U zo wil ik bouwen, verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven, uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven die mij mijn hert doorwondt.

William of Nassau am I, of Dutch blood;

True to the fatherland I remain until death.
Prince of Orange am I, free and fearless.
To the King of Spain I have always given honour.
You, my God and Lord, are my shield, on You I rely.
On You I will build; never leave me,
So that I may remain pious, your servant at all moments,
Dispelling the tyranny that wounds my heart.

The National Anthem of Belgium: De Brabançonne

By Alexandre Dechet, 1830

O dierbaar België
O heilig land der vaad'ren
Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd.
Aanvaard ons hart en het bloed van onze adren,
Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd.
Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken;
Wees immer u zelf en ongeknecht,
Het woord getrouw, dat ge onbevreesd moogt spreken:
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht. (x3)

O beloved Belgium,
sacred land of our fathers,
Our heart and soul are dedicated to you.
Our strength and the blood of our veins we offer,
Be our goal, in work and battle.
Prosper, O country, in unbreakable unity,
Always be yourself and free.
Trust in the word that, undaunted, you can speak:
For King, for Freedom and for Law. (x3)