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~<i;tll

SPOKEN WORLD

DUTCH
A COMPLETE COURSE
FOR BEGINNERS

written by

Pt'tt>r K.F V<'1hotv111

reviewed by

AndHa Sd111'lt
edited by

Christoplwr A. Warnasch

LIVING LANGUAGE ~

of Rando m House, Ine.

Copyr ight 2009 by Living Language, an impri nt
Inform ation Group
Living Language is a memb er of the Rando m House
arks of Rando m
Living Language and colop hon are regist ered tradem
House, Ine.
. Ine.
Map Fodor's Travel, a divisio n of Rando m House
All rights reserved.
an impri nt of
Published. in the United States by Living Language,
Rando m House, Ine.
www.livinglanguage.com
Editor: Christ opher A. Wama sch
Produ ction Editor: Carolyn Roth
Produ ction Manager: Tom Marshall
Interio r Design: Sophie Chin
First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-4ocx>i987-8

available upon
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
request.
purchases for sales
This book is available at special discounts for bulk
person alized covers,
ing
includ
s,
promo tions or premi ums. Special edition
be create d in
can
ts,
imprin
rate
corpo
excerpts of existing books, and
write to Special
ation,
inform
more
For
needs.
l
large quanti ties for specia
New York, New York
Markets/Premium Sales, 1745 Broadway, MD 6-2,
10019 or e-mail specia lmark ets@r andom house .com.
PRlNTED IN THE UNJTED STATES OF AMERICA
10

98765432

DEDICATION
To Francien.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to the Living Language team : Tom Russell, Nicole Benhabib,
Christopher Warnasch, Zviezdana Verzich, Suzanne McQuade,
Shaina Malkin, Elham Shabahat, Sophie Chin, Linda Schmidt,
Alison Skrabek, Carolyn Roth, and Tom Marshall. Special thanks to
Manon Zinzell, Suzanne Dikker, and Peter Schoenaerts.

Course Outline
lntroduction ix
How to Use this Course ix
Dutch Pronunciation xv
VOCABULARY

GRAMMAR

LESSON 1 GOOD MORNING!

Greetings, courtesy expressions,
and personal introductions

1.

Subject pronouns

2.

The verb zijn (to be)

3. Questions

LESSON 2 SAY Hl TO THE FAMILY FOR ME!

Vocabulary and expressions for
talking about the family

1.

Possessive pronouns

2.

The verb hebben (to have)

13

3. Gender and articles

4. Possession

LESSON 3 WELCOME TO MY HOME!

Basic vocabulary for everyday
objects, general descriptions,
and numbers

1.

The plural of nouns

2.

Adjective agreement

29

3. Er is, er zijn, het is and het zijn

LESSON 1t A REGULAR DAY

Yocabulary for everyday life,
including verbs, and more numbers

47
1.

Object pronouns

2.

Verbs in the present tense

3. Yerbs ending in -n

LESSON 5 AT SCHOOL
School subjects, studying, and
education in the Netherlands

63
i.

Expressing likes and dislikes

2.

Making comparisons

3. Modal verbs
4. Negation with niet and geen

VOCABULARY

GRAMMAR

81

LESSON 6 ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Getting around town, asking for
directions, and public
transportation

1.

Word order

2.

Imperatives

. Questions and question words

3

95

LESSOll 7 WHO'S CALLING?

Making appointments and

i.

Simple past of zijn and hebben

scheduling things

2.

Numbers above

20

and dates

3. Telling time

111

LESSOll 8 BUYING AND SELLING

Shopping, clothing terms, and
polite requests

i.

Demonstratives and other

determiners

2.

Prefix verbs

3. Polite requests
129 .

LESSOtl 9 1N THE RESTAURANT

Food and restaurants

1.

The present perfect

2.

Irregular past participles

3. Diminutives
~ 151

LESSOtl 10 OH, DOCTOR!

Health and the human body

i.

The present perfect with zijn

2.

Using modals in the present

perfect

3. Reflexive verbs

LESSOll 11 COMPUTERS AND

Comp~ter related terms, e-mailing,
and usmg the internet

:rti'e JN.IERNEr . 16'7

1.

Present perfect tense of

separable prefix verbs

2.

Inseparable verbs in the present

perfect

3. Word order in dependent

clauses

vi

VOCABULARY

GRAMMAR

LESSON 12 AT THE POST OFFICE

Runnin g errands, the bank, and the
post office

1.

185

Simple past tense of regular

verbs

2.

Expressing the future

3. Er with prepositions

LESSON 13 AT WORK
Talking about work, the office, jobs,
and professions

2 01
1.

Simple past of irregular verbs

2.

Relative clauses

3. More on pronoun s

LESSON 11t LEISURE TIME

Talking about leisure time,
entertai nment, hobbies, and
interests

219
1.

The progressive

2.

More on infinitives

3. Indefinites

LESSON 15 SPORTS AND THE OUTDOORSTalking about sports, recreational

activities, and the weather

1.
2.

235

The passive voice

Conditional sentences with
als ... dan

3. More on conditionals

Strong and Irregular Verbs

Dutch-English Glossary

251

261

English-Dutch Glossary 297

vii

lntr odu ctio n

This course is designed to provide you with an easy

and practical
introduction to the Dutch language. lt will help you
learn the basics
of Dutch vocabulary, structure, and conversation, so
that you'll be
able to take part in everyday conversations, find your
way aroun d,
and make yourself under stood in a range of situations
in Dutch. Of
course learning a language is not a simple thing; it
takes time, patience, and comm itmen t, but it can be a lot of fun and
very rewarding. This progr am doesn 't assume that you have
any knowledge
of Dutch, or that you're a whiz with grammatica! conce
pts. Everything is explained in plain English, grammatica! conce
pts are put
in simple language, and there are plent y of examples
to help you
under stand each point as you progress throu gh the
course. You'll
probably find that with this course, Dutch comes
to you far more
painlessly than you would have imagined! But befor
e you begin,
take a mom ent to read the How to Use this Course
section, so that
you can get the most out of Living Lang uage Spoke
n World: Dutch.

HOW 1'0 USE THIS COURSE

This begin ner level course is desig ned to use both
audio and visua l
instru ction to help you maste r the basics of Dutch
. No previ ous
knowledge of Dutch at all is assum ed.
Following this introd uctio n, you'll find a sectio n
that teach es you
every thing you need to know abou t Dutch pronu
nciat ion. Use it
in conju nctio n with the audio to becom e fully acqua
inted with the
sound s of Du~-ch. Imita te the nativ e speak ers that you
hear, hut don't
be worri ed ifyou don't soun d quite nativ e yours elf;
after all, you'r e
not. Good pronu nciat ion will come in time. Just use
the pronu nciation sectio n. to famil iarize yours elf with the sound
s and spelli ng of
Dutch. Thn you can begin the fiftee n lessons, each
of whic h is dedicated to a partic itlar topic and to a numb er of struc
tural point s.

As a genera! piece of advice, fight the urge to skip ahead or rush

over any part of this course. It's designed in a careful sequence. ~nd
each section represents a building block that adds to eve.rythmg
before it, while at the sarne time preparing you for everythmg that
comes after it. Always move ahead at your own pace; if you don 't
understand something, or if you don't fee! quite comfortable with
some point, simply go over it again. That's the be~t way to make
sure your learning experience is painless and effective.
Each lesson of this course contains the following sections:
Vocabulary warm-up

The vocabulary warm-up kicks off the lesson with key .words you'll
hear in the dialogue. Many will be related to the topic of the lesson; some will be related to the grammar you'll be learning in that
particular lesson.
Dialogue

The dialogue in each lesson serves the double purpose of allowing

you to read and hear natural Dutch at work and introducing you to
Dutch culture. Read these dialogues carefully; they'll contain the
grammar and key phrases that you will be learning later in the lesson. Don't be afraid to read them several times, and listen to them
on the recordings a few times, as well. Always go at your own pace,
and stick with a section until you're comfortable with it.
Vocabulary

The vocabulary list contains new words from the dialogue as well
as other words related to the overall topic of the lesson. You can
refer to this list while reading through the dialogue, but of course
the translation of the dialogue is provided as well. U se the vocabulary lists as a chance to build a good foundation for your Dutch
vocabulary, one topic at a time. Experiment with different m ethods
of learning vocabulary-spoken or written repetition, flashcards,
practice sentences, Web searches ... Be creative, and find what
works for you.

Key phr1ses
The key phrases section contains more practical words or phrases
related to the lesson topic. Don't worry if you don't grasp the gramx

mar behind each phrase right away. Treat the phrases as extendt'd
vocabulary lists; the grarnmar will be filh_,d in as you progress, and
the idiomatic and practical expressions you learn in the key phrases
will come in handy.
Culture notes

Each lesson contains two culture notes. These notes are intended
to give you a window on Dutch culture. They cover topics such as
food, clothing, manners and customs, and other essential and interesting information for students of Dutch.
Grammar

Each Iesson contains a number of notes on particular aspects of

Dutch grammar. These notes are introduced in a careful sequence,
so that they build on one another, and they explain the key structures you encounter in the lesson, particularly the dialogue. Each
point is explained in plain and simple language, and there are plenty
of examples to help you understand. Grammar can be tricky for
many beginning Ianguage learners, so take your time on the grammar notes. Grammar is the nuts-and-bolts of any language learning;
without it, you wouldn't knowhow to put words together!
Exercises

The exercises in each lesson will give you more opportumt1es to

practice the grammar and vocabulary you've learned in each lesson.
Each lesson includes an answer key at the end, so you can check
your progress.
Independent challenge
The most important part of learning a language is practice. These
independent challenge activities are designed to give you ideas for
finding contexts in your life where you can practice your Dutch.
They're meant as a guide; if you feel inspired to create your own
independent challenge activities, go right ahead. The more contact
you have with a language, the better you'll learn it. And don't forget about the internet. Language learners have an incredible tool at
their disposal-they can find newspapers, blogs, online references,
travel and tourism sites, and much, much more, all of which can be
used to add depth and color to language lessons.
xi

Audio

The audio portion of this course is divided into two sets: St't A and
Set B.
Set A includes the vocabulary warm-up, dialogue, vocabulary, key
phrases, and grammar points from each lesson. This part of the audio should be used along with the book, following the order of each
lesson, to allow you to hear the words on the page in spoken Dutch.
A good approach is to read each section first without the audio so
that you're prepared to get the most out of the audio when you do
listen to it. Then, take it step-by-step and listen to each section, always allowing yourself the time and repetition that you need.

*Helpful hint: Once you've listened to the dialogue several times

while reading along in the book, try listening to it without the help
of the book. This will help tune your ear to Dutch, and it will make
understanding the spoken language easier down the line.

Set B is intended to be used on the go to supplement your studies.

It contains the dialogue from each lesson, braken down into easily
digestible sentences with English translations. You'll hear pauses
after each line of dialogue; use the pause to repeat the line and
practice your pronunciation. Set B also includes several audio-only
exercises that do not appear in the book but are based on exactlv
the same grammar points. A good way to make use of Set B is t~
listen to it following each lesson, once you've comfortably finished
reading the text and listening to the Set A audio. Use Set B wherever it's convenient for you-in the car, on the train , at the gym,
while you do dishes, in the garden ... It 's up to you. You can also
use Set B as a review of lessons you've long since completed to keep
you on your toes !

Appendix of strong and irregular Dutch verbs

Dutch is a language that's very closely related to English, and like
English, it has irregular verbs of the take-taken-taak variety. You'll
leam the most common and important of these verbs in the lessons
themselves, hut the appendix is also provided as a reference tool.

Glossary

At the end of this book you'll find a Dutch-English/English-Dutch

glos~ary. It includes all of the words from the vocabulary list s. plus
any important vocabulary that's taught in the grammar notes. It
xii

also includes a wide range of common and practical words that

may not come up in the context of this course. lt's not meant as a
complete dictionary, but it certainly includes enough to be a valuable reference tool for the beginning student of Dutch.
As you use this course, keep this in mind : Language learning is
a gradual process; it won't happen overnight. Still . with repeated
exposure and practice, you'll find yourself becoming a better and
better Dutch speaker each time you pick up this course. But languages aren't just used in hooks; they're used by people. So, if you
can, seek out speakers of Dutch where you live or on the internet.
That way, you can practice the language and discover new people
while you do.
Veel succes! Best of luck!

xiii

Dutch pronunc iation

Dutch spelling and pronunciatio n are more closely related to each

other than are English spelling and pronunciation . In most cases,
you pronounce a word in Dutch as it's written, hut you may not find
much consolation in this when, as an English speaker, you come
across words like Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal ! As you can probahly
tell, Dutch has a rich inventory of vowel sounds, including a lot
of diphthongs, or vowel comhinations. The consonants are for the
most part easier, hut let 's focus first on the vowels.

OPEN AND CLOSED SYLLABLE S

Vowel pronunciatio n and spelling in Dutch is much eas ier to grasp
after understandin g the distinction hetween open and closed syllables. An open syllable is one that ends in a vowel sound, and a
closed syllable is one that ends in a consonant sound. Obviously, if
a word has only one syllable and ends in a consonant, that syllable
will be closed.
closed syllables: man (man), mes (knife), dit (this}, pot (pot), dus (so)
In langer words, syllables are divided before a single consonant,
and between two consecutive consonants. Note the syllable breaks
in the following words, indicated by the hyphens.
first syllable open: wo-nen (to live), ne-men (to take), spre-ken (to

speak)
first syllable closed: man-~en (men), zit-ten (to sit), hon-den (dogs)

SHORT VOWELS
Now let's look at the pronunciatio n and spelling of short vowels.
Short vowels are written with a single vowel letter: a, e, i, o, u. They

I d
Il bi . Dutch which means that th ey 'll
c ose sy a es I 0
,
..
nt if tht> 'r.
y t
in the final (or only) syllable.
only appear

in

eid~er be followed by two consonan ts, or one con sona

SHORT VOWEL

APPROXIMATE
PRONUNCIATION

EXAMPLES

like o in hot or the

dat (that), man (man), bank

(bank), bakken (to bake)

first a in lava

like e in get or best

(but see below for
final -e and -en)

zes (six), hek (fence), zetten

(to put, set), mensen
(people)

like i in is or his

in (in), dik (fat), winkel

(shop), lippen (lips)

like aw in lawn or down,

but shorter, or as in hot
in British "Received
Pronuncia tion"

pot (pot), zon (sun), rond

(round), sokken (soeks)

similar to i in bird or o
in worm, but with
rounded lips, and short

bus (bus), dus (so), kussen

(kisses), lucht (air)

There's also a very short, unstresse d vowel in Dutch similar to the

English schwa, or the reduced vowel that comes at the end of sofa
or yoga. Final -e and -en are often pronounc ed with this vowel, and
in fact the n of -en is often silent, so -en and -e are pronoun ced alike.
Another common ending with the short, reduced vowel is -lijk.
deze (this), rode (red), komen (to come), beginnen (to begin),
huizen (houses), vrouwen (women) , makkelij k (easy), moeilijk
(difficult), lelijk (ugly)

LONG VOWELS
Now let's look at long vowels. Long vowels are spelled in two different ways, dependin g on whether the syllable they're in is open
or closed. In a closed syllable, rememb er that a single vowel is
pronoun ced short. So, to indicate a long vowel sound, the vowel is
doubled in written Dutch: aa, ee, oo, or uu. There's no double i in
Dutch, though. Instead, ie is written. In an open syllable, a single a,
e, i, o, or u indicates a long vowel. (Althoug h again, rememb er that
final -e is a reduced vowel similar to the a in sofa.)
xvi

LONG VOWEL

APPROXIMATE
PRONUNCIATION

EXAMPLES

a, aa

similar toa in had or sat

vader (father), maken (to

make). staan (to stand).
gaan (to go). na (after)

e,ee

similar to ay in day,
but clipped

lezen (to read), spreken (to

speak). neem (take), heet
(hot), zee (sea)

i, ie

similar to ee in meet

sigaar (cigar), piraat (pirate),

zien (to see), bier (beer). drie
(three)

o,oo

similar to o in wrote or
oa in boot, but clipped

kopen (to buy), wonen (to

live), zoon (son), oom
(uncle), droog (dry)

u, uu

like ee in meet, but with

rounded lips; like u in
French tu or in German

nu (now), zuren (to become

sour), vuur (fire), buur
(neighbor)

ber

DIPHTHONGS AND VOWEL COMBINATIONS

There are several vowel combinations to keep in mind. Many of
them are unlike any sounds found in English, but if you spend a
little time practicing them, they'll become easier.
oe
, eu

like oo in tooth

like ay in day, but with

rounded lips; like eu in

boek (book), hoek (corner),

hoe (how)
neus(nos~, deur(doo~,

leunen (to /eon)

French feu

el, ij

similar to yin my or by,

but starting with e as in

schrijven (to write), tijd

(time), mei (May)

get; a quick combination

of eh + ee
a quick combination of
short a followed by
rounded uu

(garden)

a combination of

uw (your), duwen (to push),

rounded uu followed by
a slight w sound

ruw (rough)

huis (house), uit (out), tuin

xvii

ou

similar to ou in /oud or
cloud

koud (cold), oud (old). hout

(wood)

aai

long aa followed by
short i

saai (duin, baai (bay).

naaien (to sew)

ooi

long oo followed by
short i; similar to oy in
toy

mooi (beautiful). ooit (ever),

nooit (never)

oei

long oe followed by
short i

boei (buoy), loeien (to moo,

to low). koeien (cows)

ie uw

long ie followed by
short u or w

nieuw (new). opnieuw

(once again). kieuw (gil/)

eeuw

long ee followed by
short u or w

eeuw (century). sneeuw

(snow), schreeuwen
(to shout)

CONSONANTS
The consonants b, d, f, h, k, 1, m, n, p, s, t, and z are pronounced in a
similar way in Dutch and English. The consonant c on its own may
have a hard (k) or soft (s) pronunciation.
boom (tree), dak (roof), fijn (fine, pure), huis (house), kleur (color)i
leuk (nice, pleasant), moeder (mother), niet (not), paard (horse),
smal (narrow), tot (until), zout (salt), cacao (cocoa) , citroen (lemon)

At the end of a word, b is pronounced like p, and d is pronounced

like t.
ik heb (I have), lob (lobe), huid (skin, hide), bed (bed)
Otherwise, there are only a few consonants and consonant combinations that need special attention.

xviii

CONSONANT

APPROXIMATE
PRONUNCIATION

EXAMPLES

ch

gutteral sound similar

to ch in Scottish loch

nacht (night), achter

(behind), recht (straight).
licht (light)

gutteral sound similar

to ch in Scottish loch

goed (good), dag (day),

gaan (to go), tegen
(against)

like yin yes

ja (yes). jas Uacket). jouw

(your), jurk (dress)

rolled, either with tongue

against the ridge behind
the teeth, or further back
in the throat as in French

raam (window), rood (red).

druk (busy), groter (bigger)

sch

s followed by gutteral ch

school (school), schip

(ship). schrijven (to write).
schatten (treasures)

-isch

as -is

logisch (logica/), tragisch

(trog ic), praktisch (practican,

Belgisch (Belgian)
sj

like sh in show

sjaal (shawl). meisje (girl),

bosje (/ittle wood). Sjoerd
(man's name)

similar tof in father

vader (father). voor (!or).

vrij (free). geven (to give)

like vin very

water (water), wij (we),

wassen (to wash). dwingen

1-------!V
... . ..

---. ~---~ ~ -- - -

. ,

!w

L~------

(to force)

xix

LESSON

Goedemo rgen!

Good morning!
In this first lesson, you'll learn some formal greetings and other
courtesy expressions in Dutch, and you 'll learn how to make personal introductions. You'll also begin to learn about personal pronouns, how to use the essential verb zijn (to be), and how to ask
simple questions. On the cultural side, you'll learn about expressing
formality and respect in Dutch culture. But first let 's start with a
vocabulary warm-up!

1A. VOCABULAR Y WARM-UP

Goedemorgen!

Good morning!

Hoe heet u?

What's your name ?

Ik ben John.

J'm John.

Hoe maakt u het?

How do you do?

Prettig met u kennis te maken.

Pleased to meet you.

Goed.

Fine.

Dank u.

Thank you.

18. DIALOGUE
John is learning Dutch in the Netherlands. He lives in Buitenveldert,
a residential district in metropolitan Amsterdam. One morning as
he's leaving for language school, he meets an older neighbor, Mrs.
Kamerik, just outside his apartment building for the first time.

John: Goedemorgen, mevrouw.

Mevrouw Kamerik: Ook goedemorgen. H, jij spreekt

Nederlands!

John: Nee. Een beetje maar, mevrouw.

Mevrouw Kamerik: Waar kom je vandaan? Uit Amerika?
John: Ja ... I mean ... ja mevrouw. Ik kom uit
Chicago. Ik ben hier student.
Mevrouw Kamerik: Woon je hier ook?
John: Jawel, mevrouw.
Mevrouw Kamerik: Echt? Ik heet trouwens Anna. En jij? Hoe
heet jij?
John: Ik ben John. Aangenaam.
Mevrouw Kamerik: Prettig kennis met je te maken. Hoe gaat het
met je, John?
John: Goed. Dank u. En hoe maakt u het?
Mevrouw Kamerik: Met mij gaat het ook goed.
John: Tot ziens.
Mevrouw Kamerik: Goed, John. Tot ziens!

John: Good morning, ma'am.

Mrs. Kamerik: Good morning to you, too. Wow, you speak
Dutch!
John: No. Just a little, ma'am.
Mrs. Kamerik: Where are you from? From America?
John: Yeah ... I mean ... yes ma'am. J'm from
Chicago. J'm a student here.
Mrs. Kamerik: Do you live here too?
John: Yes indeed, ma'am.
Mrs. Kamerik: Really? My name is Anna, by the way. And
you? What's your name?
John: J'm John. Nice to meet you, ma'am.
Mrs. Kamerik: Pleased to meet you. How are you, John?
John: Fine, thank you. How do you do, ma'am?
Mrs. Kamerik: J'm fine too.
John: Good-bye.
Mrs. Kamerik: Alright, John. Good-bye f
2

c.

VOC ABU LAR Y

wing abbnviation~ \\. ill bt' ll~t'd i.11

Tlle f'Jllo
thi:-- <. rnir:--1 : rm.I - 111-'"
. ~ (fJ. = t",n11'11i.ne (SC/ I = "llH! llLll. l{J l .I
1!1111\<il
cu 11ne.
....
p 1\lid.l ( I fll 11
.
.

polite. (infml.) = inlor mal

0

'

echt ?
een beetj e

u !t tt Ie

goed

fine . o~m'. ulri1Jhl

hier

here

hoe

how

ja

\ 't'S

jawe l

\ 'l'S.

jij/je *

vou rsuhi ect pron oun -'!/.1

jou/je*

\!Oll

maa r

onlv. iust . hut

mevr ouw

,\Jrs.

Nederlands

Dutc h

Hoe heet je?

Whn t 's your nunw /

nee

110

ook

also, too

spre ken

to spenk

stud ent

stude nt

tot ziens

see you , 1oo<lhye

trou wen s

by tlw way

you (frnl.)

uit

Jrorn (a place of oriqin)

waa r . vand aan?

Jrom where?

won en

to live, to be a resident of

i nclt->ed

{ohi!'ct pn HIOIH I. sy. I

*In Dutch, most pronouns have a stressed

and an unstressed form . Jij and jou are
sttessed, and je is unstressed. Most of the
time in spoken language the unstr t>ssed
fOtm is used. We'll come back to pronouns in a moment.
3

o.

KEY PHRASES

Here are some common greeting s and convcrs ational phrases in

Dutch.

Hoe gaat het met je?

How are you? (infrnl.)

Hoe maakt u het?

How do you do? ({ml.)

Goedem orgen!

Good morning !

Goedemiddag!

Good afienwo n !

Goedena vond!

Good evening!

Hallo!

Hella!

Hoe heet je?

What 's your name? (infml.)

Hoe heet u?

What s your name? (fml.)

Aangena am.

Nice to meet you.

Tot ziens!

Good-by e!

Dag!

Good-by e ! (infml.)

Prettige avond verder!

Have a good evening!

Welteru sten!

Sleep well!

Dank je.

Thank you. (infml.)

Dank u.

Thank you. (fml.)

Niets te danken.

You 're welcome . Jt's nothing.

Graag gedaan.

You're welcome . Don't mention it.

Alsjeblieft.

Please.jH ere you go. (infml.)

Alstubli eft.

Please.jH ere you go. (fml.)

1E. CULTURE NOTE

Politeness is valued in Dutch culture. The use of the formal pronoun u in Dutch, as you saw in the dialogue, is a sign of respect. I t
is used when speaking with an older person, with a person of high
rank or status, or with a stranger. When u is used, it is also polite
to add mevrou w (ma'am) or meneer (sir). To indicate that it's okay
for someone to use the less formal forms jij or je, a person may say
Laten we elkaar maar tutoyer en (Let's be on familiar terms) , Je
mag Anna zeggen (You may say Anna) or Ik heet Anna (My name
is Anna). Notice that in the conversation above John continues to
4

use the polite pronouns even after thi s invitation. He probably

thinks the distance is too wide between him and his older neighbor
to say jij.
Dutch has become less forma} in the last twenty or so years, so you
may notice that it has become more common to address people,
even older people, in the informal. But in business environments
the formal still is common. It's always a safe bet to start out with
the formal. This includes not only the subject pronouns u and jij,
and jullie in the plural, but also the possess ive pronoun your, which
in Dutch has a familiar (jouw) and a polite (uw) form. We'll carne
back to possessives later.

1F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point 1: Subject pronouns

There are two types of pronouns in Dutch, subject pronouns and

object pronouns, each type with its own function in the sentence.
First, let's look at subject pronouns. These are the words you'll use
as the subject of a sentence, corresponding to the English J, you, he,
she, etc.
ik
jij/je

you (infml. sg.)

you (!ml.)

hij, zij/ze, het

he, she, it

wij/we

we

l jullie

you (infml. pl.)

L..:.,.._____

zij/ze

- - L , _ ________ _________ ..

they

Take \ll.Ote of the three pronouns for you. As you saw in the culture
note, the singular jij/je and the plural jullie are informal, used with
friends, family, and people who are generally of the same rank. The
pronoun u is formal. It's singular, but you can also use it when you
are talking to more than one person.
Hoe gaat b.et met je, Martijn?
How are )IOU, Martijn?
Hoe gaat het met jullie, kinderen?
How are you, kids?
5

Hoe maakt u het, mevrouw?

How do you do, ma'am?
Heren, bent u klaar?
Gentlemen, are you ready?
Also note that there are two varieties of a few different pronouns. Jij
(you), zij (she, they), and wij (we) are stressed, and their uns~ressed
forms are je, ze and we. Stressed pronouns are usually used m conversation only to show emphasis. Otherwise, the unstressed forms
are used.
Ze komt uit Amsterdam.
She's from Amsterdam.
Nee, zij komt uit Utrecht, en hij komt uit Amsterdam.
No, she's from Utrecht, and he 's from Amsterdam.
Grammar point

2: The verb zijn (to be)

Now let's look at our first Dutch verb. The conjugation of the verb
zijn (to be) is very irregular, just like in English. In the present tense,
there are four finite, or conjugated, forms.
ik ben(/ om)

wij/we zijn (we are)

jij/je bent (you are, infml. sg.)

jullie zijn (you are, infml. pl.)

u bent (you are, fml. sg.)

u bent (you are, fml. pl.)

hij, zij/ze, het is (he, she, it is)

zij/ze zijn (they are)

The ~utch use zijn quite similarly to the English verb to be. You can
use It to tell nationalities, identify things, give basic descriptions,
and so on.
Ik hen Amerikaan.
I am American.

Jij bent Nederlander.

You're Dutch.
Wi~ zijn Belgen, en zij zijn Duitsers.
We re Belgians, and they're Germans.

~~.terdam is een stad, Holland is een streek en Nederland is een

Amsterdam is a c ty H Il d
.
l '
o an is a regzon' and the Neth l d .
country.
er an s 1s a

Margr.iet .is groot, maar Geerd is klein.

Margriet is tal/, hut Geerd is short.
6

Hij is blij!
He's happy!

Jullie zijn thuis.

You (pl.) are at home.
Grammar point 3: Questions

Now Iet's look at how to form simple yes/no questions with zijn.
Just as in English, the Dutch verb comes at the beginning of the
sentence in yes/no questions.
Is hij hier?
Is he here?

Zijn ze klaar?
Are they ready?
Bent u Amerikaan?
Are you American?
Is Maastricht een stad in Nederland of in Belgi?
Is Maastricht a city in the Netherlands or in Belgium?

One small irregularity is that with the phrase jij/je bent (you are) ,
the final -t in the verb is dropped when the pronoun comes after
the verb in questions: ben jij/ben je? (are you?}
Ben jij thuis?
Are you at home?

Ben je klaar?
Are you ready?
To answer a yes/no question, use ja (yes) or nee (no). With nee,
you'll negate the verb as well, just as in English, which means that
you'H use niet (not) right before the word or phrase that you're
negating.
Zijn ze klaar?
Are they ready?

-Ja, ze zijn klaar./-Nee, ze zijn niet klaar.

-Yes, they're ready/ No, they're not ready.
Is Freek hier?
Is Freek here ?

-Ja, hij is hier./-Nee, hij is niet hier.

-Yes, he's here/ No, he's not here.
Is de vrouw aardig?
Is the woman friendly?
7

-Ja, zij is heel aardig./-Nee, zij i~ niet a~rdig.

-Yes, she's very friendly.j-No, she s not frzendly.

16. READING
Read the following short composition written by John, the Dutch
Iearner from the dialogue. See if you understand what he's saying,
and try to figure out the meaning of the parts you don't understand
from context. Notice that John uses u to sound more formal, and
also note that maar is used to mean just, only, and but, to give just
a few examples.
Hoe maakt u het? Ik ben John. Ik ben een Amerikaan uit Illinois.
Ik ben student en op het ogenblik studeer ik Nederlands in Amsterdam. Ik kan maar een beetje Nederlands spreken, maar ik
wil het beter leren. Ik woon in Amstelveen. Prettig met u kennis
te maken.
How are you? J'm John. J'm an American, from Jllinois. I'm a student
and at the moment I study Dutch in Amsterdam. I can only speak a
little Dutch, but I want to learn it better. I live in Amstelveen. Nice to
meet you.

1H. CULTURE NOTE

There are more than 20 million speakers of Dutch in the Netherlands and in the northern parts of Belgium, known as Vlaanderen
(Flanders). Other languages spoken in the region include Fries (Frisian) in Friesland (Frisia) in the northern part of the Netherlands,
Frans (French) in Walloni (Wallonia) in the southern parts of Belgium, and Duits (German) in the eastern parts in Belgium, near
the German border. There are also a number of Dutch-speaking
communities in other countries, such as Suriname (Surinam) and
the Nederlandse Antillen (Netherlands Antilles) of the Caribbean.
Afrikaans js a language related to Dutch, having developed from
the Dutch settlement of Zuid-Afrika (South Africa), although it is a
distinct language today.

The Dutch language belongs to the Indo-Europe an family and is

t4osely related to German, English, and Frisian. There are thousands of loan words in Dutch, particularly from Latin, French,
German, and English. In both spoken and written Dutch, English
8

words are used in the domains of sports, commerce and computers.

Most of these borrowed words have a restricted meaning, though.
For instance, in Dutch a printer is just a device used to print from a
computer. However, in spite of all the foreign borrowings in Dutch,
the richness of the language remains intact. Foreign words are absorbed into the language and behave as Dutch words. You can see
this in the example of borrowed verbs, which take on Dutch endings. For example, from the English to score there is zij scoren ( they
score).

EXEICISES
A. Choose a word or combination of words from the list below to
complete the dialogue. You may not need to use every word in the
list.

ik, avond, komt, u, ik kom, niet uit, daar, goedenavond, uit

Manon:

I
meneer! Spreekt
Nederlands?

2 _ __

Hans : Jawel. 3 _ _ _ u uit Amsterdam?

Manon : Nee, 4 ___ kom 5 ___ Amsterdam.
Hans : Waar komt u dan vandaan?
Manon: 6

uit Rotterdam.

Hans: Goed. Prettige 7___ verder.

B. Fill in each blank the correct form of the verb zijn.

i .

2.

1k

Amerikaan.
___

je ook Amerikaan?

3. Anna ~~niet in New York.

4. U ______ .,.thuis.

5. ___ jullie hier?

6. Amsterdam
7. We _

- - - een grote stad.

____heel

blij.

8. Hij _ _ ___ niet peel groot.

9

C. Read the following short exchanges and supply the missin

g sentences.

A:Bent u een Amerikaan?

B:Ja,

i _ __

A:ls hij rijk?

B:Nee, 2 _ __
A:Zijn jullie blij?
B:Nee,3 _ __
A:Ben jij student?
B:Ja,4 _

A:Zijn ze in Utrecht?
B:Nee,5 _ __
D. Translate the following sentences into English or Dutch.
i.

We zijn hier in Amsterdam, en we zijn heel blij.

2.

Amsterdam is een grote stad.

3. Geerd is niet groot; hij is klein.

+Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands.
5. John is American, and Henk is Dutch.
6. Are you (fml.) from the Netherlands or from Belgium?

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Now it's your turn to practice everything you 've learned so far
by putting it to practical use. Throughout this course, it will be
your task to keep a Dutch journal. For your first entry, write
down an imaginary conversation you might have with someone you meet shortly after arriving in Amsterdam. Since this
person is someone you're meeting for the first time, try to use
the forma! expressions that you've learned in this lesson. lf it's
an older person, express yourself politely with u. Remember to
make a note of this conversation, and write it in your Language
- - --Journal. Have fun with this Challenge1
10

ANSWER KEY
A.i. goedenavond;
7. avond.
B.i. ben;

2.

2.

u; 3. komt; 4. ik; 5. niet uit; 6. ik kom;

ben; 3. is; 4. bent; 5. zijn; 6. is; 7. zijn; 8. is

C.i. Ja, ik ben Amerikaan. 2. Nee, hij is niet rijk. 3. Nee, we/wij zijn
niet blij. 4. Ja, ik ben student. 5. Nee, ze zijn niet in Utrecht.
D.i. We are here in Amsterdam, and we're very happy. 2. Amsterdam
is a big city. 3. Geerd is not tall; he's short. 4. Rotterdam is een
stad in Nederland. 5. John is Amerikaan, en Henk is Nederlander.
6. Komt u uit Nederland of uit Belgi?

11

12

LESSO N

Groet uw familie van me!

Say hi to the family for me!

In this second lesson, you'll learn about a Dutch family, so you'll

learn a lot of useful basic vocabulary for family relations. You'll also
learn another very important and common Dutch verb, hebben (to
have), along with more basic grammar on articles, gender, and the
possessive. But first, here's a vocabulary warm-up!

2A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

Gefeliciteerd!

Congratulations !

Dat is prachtig!

That's great !

Moet je horen, John.

Hey listen, John. You know what,

John?

Mijn dochter heeft een zoon

gekregen.

My daughter had a son.

Zij zijn heel gelukkig met

They're very happy with their son.

hun zoon.

Al.een poosje.

For quite a while.

Dankuwel!

Thank you very much !

Veel plezier!

Enjoy yourself!

Hoe heet hij?

What's his name?

21. DlALOGUE
John rans into Mrs. Kamerik again while he's on the streetcar on
his way to see a friend. She looks very happy, and she apparently
can't wait to share some news with him.
13

John: Goedemorgen, mevrouw Kamerik. Hoe

maakt u het?
Mevrouw Kamerik: Hallo, moet je horen John: mijn dochter
heeft een zoon gekregen, net op mijn
verjaardag!
John: Dat is prachtig! Gefeliciteerd, mevrouw!
Mevrouw Kamerik: Dank je wel, John.
John: En hoe is het met uw kleinzoon en uw
dochter? Maken zij het goed?
Mevrouw Kamerik: Ja, ze zijn gezond. Mijn dochter en
schoonzoon zijn heel blij met hun zoon. Ze
hebben al een dochter.
John: Heeft u nog meer kleinkinderen?
Mevrouw Kamerik: Ik heb nog een kleinzoon en een
kleindochter. Die zijn van mijn zoon en
schoondochter.
John: Dus u bent al een poosje grootmoeder.
Mevrouw Kamerik: Ja, en hier heb ik een foto van het
pasgeboren kleinkind.
John: Wat is hij klein! Wat een lief kleinkind. Hoe
heet hij?
Mevrouw Kamerik: Hij heeft dezelfde naam als de vader van
zijn vader. Hij heet Pieter.
John: Hier is uw foto terug, mevrouw Kamerik.
Veel plezier met uw kleinzoon. En groet uw
familie van mij.
Mevrouw Kamerik: Dat doe ik. Ik ga nu naar hun huis met een
cadeau voor de ouders en een bot voor de
hond. Tot ziens, John.

John: Good morning, Mrs. Kamerik. How are you?

Mrs. Kamerik: Hello! Hey listen, John, my daughter had a son,
right on my birthday !
John: That's great ! Congratulations f
Mrs. Kamerik: Thank you very much, John.
John: And how are your grandson and your
daughter? Are they doing well?
14

Mrs. Kamerik: Yes, they're healthy. My daughter and my sonin-law are very happy with their son. They have
a daughter already.
John: Do you have other grandchildren?
Mrs. Kamerik: J've gat another grandson and granddaughter.
Those are my son's and daughter-in-law's
children.
John: So, you 've been (lit., you are) a grandmother for
quite a while.
Mrs. Kamerik: Yes, and here /'ve got a photograph of the
newborn grandchild.
John: How small he is! You 've got a nice grandchild.
What' s his name?
Mrs. Kamerik: He has the same name as his father 's father.
His name is Pieter.
John: Here 's your photo back, Mrs. Kamerik. Have a
good time with your grandson. And say hello to
your family f or me.
Mrs. Kamerik: /'Il do that. J'm going to their home naw with a
present for the parents and a bone for the dog.
See you, john.

2C. VOCABULARY
Tn this list, you'll see (de) or (het) listed after each noun. These both
nwdn the, and they change depending on the grammatical gender
of t h<' noun. We'll cover that in the third grammar topic from this
le'i'>OJ 1.

achtcnH'ff (de)
achternicht

(de)

second cousin; grand-nephew

second cousin: grand-niece

al

already, for (in time expressions)

bot (het)

bone

broer (de)

brother

Dat doe

ik~

/'Il do that !

dezelf d,.

the same

clocht,r (de)

daughter
15

of l>i rth

grboortedag (de)

day

grootmoeder (de)

yrrmdmot her

grootvader (de)

ymn dj(11fwr

het goed maken

to do well

hond (de)

dog

huis (het)

house, hom e

kind (het)

child

klein

small

kleindochter (de)

yranddought er

kleinkind (het)

grmzrlchild

kleinzoon (de)

qmndson

mama (de)

m om

meer

more

moeder (de)

mot her

neef (de)

cou sin ; nephew

net

Just , riyht . exw tly

nicht (de)

cousrn : niece

oma (de)

r1n111<irnfl

oom (de)

/Jllilf'

opa (de)

ymrulriwl

ouders (de)

/Hl rf' fl/\

papa (de)

rl (/( J

pasgeboren

16

prachtig

.<;reut

schoonmoeder (de)

rnntlwr i11 lull'

schoonvader (de)

futlwr

schoonzus (de)

sister i11 luw

stiefkind (het)

.\{('/)( 111/<i

tante (de)

UWll

111

vader (de)

jat hn

verjaardag (de)

hirth<ioy

full'

zoon (de)

son

zus (de)

sister

zwager (de)

brother-in-law

2D. KEY PHRASES

Here are some key phrases that will be useful for talking about
family.
Ik heb een grote familie.

1 have a big f amily.

Ik heb een kleine familie.

I have a small f amily.

Ik heb twee zussen en een

broer.

I have two sisters and a brother.

Ik ben getrouwd.

J'm married.

Ik ben niet getrouwd.

J'm not married.

We hebben twee kinderen.

We have two children.

Zij heeft een dochter gekregen.

She had (gave birth to) a daughter.

Hoe gaat het met de moeder en

de baby?

How are the mother and baby

doing?

Is het een jongen of een meisje? Is it a boy or a girl?

Hoe oud ben jij geworden?

How old are you naw?

Ik ben vandaag jarig.

!t's my birthday today.

Gef-eliciteerd met je verjaardag!

Happy birthday to you!

Beterschap!

Get welf soon !

Mijn deelneming!

Accept my sympathies !

Gecondoleerd!

My condolences !

2E. CULTURE NOTE

Take a look at the family tree below, which gives all the Dutch
vocabulary for members of the extended family. The ik refers to
Mrs. Kamerik, so this is her family tree, and the relations are given
relative to her. All of the marriages are shown by an x linking two
people. The italicized family members are part of Mrs. Kamerik's
family by marriage, not by blood. This relation is expressed in
Dutch as aangetrouwd (in-law).
17

18

vader x moeder Ens

1
nicht*

ach terneef

klei ndocl il< r

klei ll /.00 11

zoon x schoondochter

1
ik x man

k hi 1Hloch111

klci11lllllll

dochter x schoon::.oon

zwager x schoonzus

~I---"--~!

schoonvader x schoonmoeder Kamerik

achtcrr1i ch1

~~~T

neef

oom

zus x zwager

1-1

schoonzus x broer

achternicht

tante

nicht

de man van mijn ni c ht. (111y nie ce 's h11shr11u /) .

*Notie<: that th e words neef and nicht ha ve two rnc;i11i 11gs, co11sin (lllai<' .11 1d fl'111al<) or Tl<'/!hnv ;11ul nil'et', 11-.sp<'cl iv1ly !\bn 11ot ic" tli.it tlw 11111 .11 11/ tli(' 11ich1
with c hildrc11 do hav< spouses, hut in Dutr:h tlwn is 110 word lor llH'lll. Mrs. Ka11wrik wo1dd rl'ln lo tlH'111 "'de vrouw v<111 mijn rH'f'I (1111 ,owin1 wl/1.l .1111/

achterneef

nicht

neef*

oom x tante

By the way, a woman in the Netherlands keeps her maiden name

after marriage unless she applies for a legal name change and takes
her husband's name, but not every woman does this. In fact, nowadays a husband may use his wife 's surname, and it 's also possible
that husband and wife combine bath their names. Parents may
choose the surname of their oldest child, either the husband's or
the wife's. Other children will get that same surname.

Another change that has been happening within Dutch families is

that some parents allow their children to address them as jij, while
others prefer the traditional formal u. This has had ripple effects
outside of the family; little children become accustomed to using
jij, so they use it even with older strangers. In the southern parts of
the Netherlands and in Belgium there is a more neutral option, gij,
available in the dialect.

2F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point

1: Possessive pronouns

In Lesson 1 you learned personal pronouns, which you use as the

subject of a sentence. A second set of pronouns in Dutch are the
possessive pronouns. These correspond to English possessives like
my, your, her, etc.
r---- -- __ _.".- ""----------""-."
~n

jouw7Je

your (infml. sg.)

uw

your (!ml.)

zijn/z'n

his, its

haar

her
our

' ons,o.nze

your

their

Notice again that there are both stressed and unstressed forms for
my, your (infml. sg.), his, and her. The unstressed forms are normally used in the spoken language. Also note that zijn can mean
both his or its. The difference between ons and onze has nothing to
do with stress. We'll come back to that later.
19

Dit is mijn vader en dat is mijn moeder.

This is my father, and that is my mother.
Jouw zus en zijn broer zijn getrouwd .
Your sister and his brother are married.
Hun familie is erg groot.
Their family is very big.

Gramma r point

:z:

The verb hebben (to have)

Now we 'll look at our second Dutch verb, hebben (to have). Like zijn,
hebben is irregular, and it is also a very importan t verb. lt's u.sed
not only to show possessio n, but also to form some verb ten ses, 1ust
as in English. We won't be getting to those tenses ju st yet ; for now
here is the conjugati on of hebben in the present tense.
ik heb

I have

jijlje hebt

you have (infml . sg .)

u hebt (heeft)

you have (!ml.)

hij, zijlze, het/'t heeft

he, she, it has

wijlwe hebben

we have

jullie hebben

you have (infml. pl.)

zijlze hebben

they have

*Note that the combination u heeft is going out of fashion, and u hebt is more common.

Wij hebben een etage in de stad.

We have an apartmen t in the city.

Zij heeft twee zussen en hij heeft een broer.

She has two sisters, and he has a brother.
Jullie hebben drie kinderen .
You have three kids.

Don't forget that to ask simple yes/ no question s in Dutch you just
put the verb at the beginnin g of the sentence . In Dutch, you can do
this with any verb, including hebben, without ever using a "helping" verb like English do or does. Also, just as je bent becomes ben
je in questions , je hebt becomes heb je.
Heb je een grote familie?

Do you have a big family?

Heeft hij een zus?

/Joes he have a sister?

20

Hebben zij een hond?

Do they have a dog?

In Lesson I you learned how to use niet (not) to express negation,

as in zij is niet aardig (she's not friendly). Dutch has another form
of negation, using geen (no, none, not any), that is useful for negative sentences with hebben. As a general rule of thumb, geen is
used to negate a noun that is preceded by een or by no article at all.
for example, the following two sentences are affirmative; the first
one includes a noun preceded by een, and the second one a noun
without any article, which gives it a generic or non-specific meaning, just as in English.
We hebben een broer.
We have a hrother.
Ze heeft boeken.
She has hooks.

To negate these sentences, you wouldn't put niet in front of the

verb, hut rather geen in front of the nouns. Notice that this construction is similar to the English not any.
We hebben geen broer.
We don't have a/any hrother.
Ze heeft geen boeken.
She doesn't have any hooks.

lremmar point 3: Gender and articles

Dutch, like a lot of other languages, has grammatica! gender. In earlier days Dutch was like German or Latin in having three genders:
masculine, feminine, and neuter. But modern Dutch only has two
genders, neuter and non-neuter, also sometimes called "common
gender." (In some dialects in the Netherlands and in a lot of dialects
in Belgium people use three genders, hut you'll be happy to know
that the standard language only uses two!)
The gen der of a noun shows up grammatically in a few different
ways. The most basic way is in the singular definite article, the
word corresponding to English the. In Dutch, the can be either de
or het. De is the form used for non-neuters, simply called de-words,
and het is used f or neuters, called het-words.

21

NON-NEUTER/DE-WORDS

NEUTER/HET-WORDS

de man (the man), de vrouw

(the woman ), de familie (the
family) , de moeder (the mother ),

het huis (the house). het kind

(the child), het bot (the bone),

de stad (the city). de flets

het raam (the window ). het land

(the country ), het boek (the book)

(the bike)

The indefinite article, the form corres pondi ng to Englis

h a/an is
easier. It's always een for both de-words and het-words.
NON-NEUTER/DE-WORDS

NEUTER/HET-WORDS

een man (a man), een vrouw

(a woman ), een familie (a family) ,
een moeder (a mother ), een stad

een huis (a house). een kind

(a child). een bot (a bone), een
raam (a window ). een land
(a country ). een boek (a book)

(a city), een flets (a bike)

In the plural the definite article is always de, regardless

of gender.
We'll come back to plural farms and spelling changes
in the next
lesson, hut for now here are a few examples.
NON-NEUTER/DE-WORDS

NEUTER/HET-WORDS

de mannen (the men), de vrouwen

(the wamen ), de moeders (the
mothers), de steden (the cities),
de fletsen (the bikes)

de huizen (the houses), de kinderen

(the chi/dre n), de botten (the
bones), de ramen (the window s),
de boeken (the books)

Now that you're familiar with the issue of gender, it's a

good time
to talk about the difference betwe en ons and onze. As
you might
be able to guess, ons is used with het-w ords, and onze is
used with
de-words, including plurals: ons huis (our house), ons
boek (our
book), onze moed er (our mother), onze stad (our city), onze
fietsen
(our bikes), onze kinde ren (our children).
It's not always easier to tell wheth er a noun is a de-wo
rd or a hetword, so in the vocabulary lists and glossary you'll alway
s see (de)
or (het) after a noun. You should memo rize the article
as if it were
part of the noun, because it will matte r for certai n gramm
atica!
issues, such as adjective endin gs and prono uns, which
we'll come
back to later. There are, however, a few gener alizati ons
you can rely_
on to teil wheth er a noun is a de-wo rd or a het-word.
Names of
countries, cities, provinces, colors, and (most) mater ials
are neuter.
Names of anima ls that refer to both sexes are also neuter
.
22

het rood (the co/or red)

het papier (the paper)

het goud (the gold)

het paard (the horse)

het schaap (the sheep)

het hout (the wood)

Another very large class of neuters are the diminutives, which end
in -je, and which basically mean a smaller version of something.
We'll come back to diminutives later in the course, hut for now
keep in mind that if you see a noun that ends in -je, it's neuter, even
if it refers to a human being.
[ het meisje (the girn
1

het beetje (the little bit)

het poosje (the little while)

het broertje (the little brother)

L... .

A lot of other common nouns are neuter with no apparent rhyme

or reason: het huis (the house), het boek (the book) , het hotel (the
hotel), het station (the station), het licht (the light), het geld (the
money), and so on, so it's really mostly a matter of memorization.
Notice that among family terms, het kind (the child) is the only
neuter noun. The others are all de-words: de vader (the father), de
moeder (the mother), de zus (the sister), de broer (the brother) , and
so on. In fact, most nouns that refer to people (unless they're diminutives) are de-words.

Gr.mmar point ": Possession

Ili Dutch there are several ways to express possession. You've already learned one way, namely using possessive pronouns to refer to someone or something that has been mentioned before or is
known from context.
John heeft zijn boek weer.
John has his book again.
Hun zus is heel aardig.
Their sister is very nice.

Two other options are to use van (of), or to use the equivalent of the
apostrophe-s, which is simply an -s added to a name that ends in a
consonant or -e, or-'s added to one that ends in a single vowel other
than -e. X('>u can use this second construction with proper names or
with the names of family members used as proper names, such as
vader, papa, moeder, mama, grootvader, opa, grootmoeder, oma,
oom, tante, and so on.
23

het boek van John

John's book

Piets huis

Piet's house

Greetjes fotoalbums

Greetje's photo albums

Anna's broertje

Anna's little brother

Moeders geld

Mother's money

Finally there is another typical Dutch phrase used to express possession, but it's rather informal and conversational. You can state
the possessor as either a name or a noun introduced by the definite
article, and then use z'n (his), d'r (her), or hun (their) before the possession. This construction is only used for animate possessors. in
other words people and animals.
John z'n boek

John's book

Anna d'r boek

Anna's book

de kinderen hun boek

the kids' book

de hond z'n huisje

the dog's little house

To summarize possession, there are three possible possess i\'e constructions in Dutch. The first option is van, which can be used with
any type of noun. The second option is to add -s or -'s, but you can
only do this with proper names, including family member nouns
used as names like the English Mother or Grandma. And the third
conversational option is with z'n, d'r, or hun, used only with animate possessors.

26. READING
Read the following short passage, written by John, our Dutch leamer
from the dialogue. You've come across many of the words alread\.
hut there are some others that will be new. Many of th ese are cognates-words that are similar across languages-so you should be
able to recognize them. See if you can figure out the otlwrs frorn
context.
Ik heb een foto van de familie Kamerik. Eerst de ouders. Dat is
mevrouw Kamerik en dat is haar man. Hij is groot. Op de voorgrond ligt hun dochter. Zij is jong. Hun zoon zit op de grond.
Hij is dun. Naast mevrouw Kameriks man staat zijn vader. Zijn
is oud. Naast de vader van meneer Kamerik zit mevrouw
_va.der
.,.r.
Kamerik d'r moeder in een stoel. Haar moeder is dik .
._{;1
24

['ve got a photo of the Kamerik family. First of all the parents. That's
Mrs. Kamerik and that's her husband. He is tall. Their daughter is
lying in front. She is young. Their son is sitting on the ground. He
is thin. Next to Mrs. Kamerik's husband is standing his father. His
father is old. Next to Mr. Kamerik's father Mrs. Kamerik's mother is
sitting in a chair. Her mother is fat.

2H. CULTURE NOTE 2

In our dialogue John ran into Mrs. Kamerik on the streetcar, and
they began to talk about her family. This was a safe topic of conversation between John and someone he doesn't really know in any
personal kind of way. If you find yourself in a situation where you
need to make polite small talk with a Dutch person, keep in mind
that safe subjects include the weather (you can always complain
about it), children (they're always either beautiful or sweet), work
(that's always important) , sports or hobbies (always interesting),
and television (always boring). Topics that you should definitely
avoid are money and earnings. Dutch people don't talk about how
much money they make, and it's considered rude to ask such a
question. If someone earns a lot of money, he or she typically will
not show it in any way. Cars in the Netherland s are modest, and
clothes are for the most part unpretenti ous. Two other topics to
avoid are religion and polities. While some Americans wear their
religion on their sleeves, religion is considered a personal matter
for Dutch people rather than a topic of discussion. And while close
fri~:nds in the Netherland s may enjoy a good politica! debate, this
is not $Olllething that people who do not know each other well will
discuss.

EXERCISES
A. Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list. The translation ip provided below to help you.
mijn, groet, gelukkig, grootmoeder, met, tot ziens,
goedemid dag, ben, waar
Meneer den Besten:

mevrouw! Hoe gaat het

uw

dochter?
25

Mevrouw Koopman : Goedemi ddag meneer! Met 3__ _ _

gaat het goed.

docht1'.r

Meneer den Besten: Is uw kleinkind er al? Bent u al 4 _

Mevrouw Koopman : Nee, ik 5 _ _ _ nog geen grootmoe der.
Meneer den Besten: 6

uw dochter van mij .

Mevrouw Koopman : Dat doe ik. Dank u en 7 _ __ .

Mr. den Besten: Good aftemoon (ma'am) ! How are lhinys going
with your daughter?
Mrs. Koopman: Good afternoon (sir)! Things are going wel/
with my daughter.
Mr. den Besten: Has your grandchi ld been bom yet? ("Is
your grandchi ld al ready there ?") Are you a
grandmo ther yet?
Mrs. Koopman: No, I'm not a grandmo ther yet.
Mr. den Besten: Say hello ("greet") to your daughter for me.
Mrs. Koopman: !'Il do that. Thank you, and good-bye.

B. Fill in each blank with the right form of the verb hebben.
i. Ik
een nieuw huis. (J have a new house.)
u al een hond? (Do you have a dog yet?)

2.

3. Wij

een mooi cadeau. (We have a beautiful present.)

4. Wie

mijn boek? (Who has my book?)

5. Jullie
6.

een lief meisje. (You (infml. pl.) have a lovely girl.)

Belgi steden? (Does Belgium have ei ties?)

C. Read the following short exchanges, and supply the missing

parts of the answers. The question s are translat ed to guide you.
Heeft u een hond? (Do you have a dog?)

Nee,

I _ __

Zijn jullie Duitsers? (Are you (infml. pl.) Germans?)

Ja,2 _ _
26

Wie is jouw vader? (Who is your (infml. sg.) father?)

3

_ _ _ vader is Pieter.

Hebben zij een cadeau? (Do they have a present?)

Nee,4 _ _ _.
Zijn jullie nu in Amsterdam? (Are you (infml. pl.) in Amsterdam

oow?)
5_ _ _, 6 _ _ _ zijn nu in Utrecht.
D. Translate the following sentences into English or Dutch.
1.

Helen d'r familie is nu thuis.

2.

Daar is het bot van de hond.

3. Oom Hans z'n huis is heel klein.

+ Ik heb een opa en een oma.

5. His mother is very young and very beautiful.
6. Wbo bas your (infml. pl.) book?
7. Anna bas a daughter.

E. Now let's do an exercise on family relationships. Fill in each

blank with the right Dutch word. If there is a slash, there are two
l]OSsible solutions. If you need to, refer back to the family tree in
the first culture note of this lesson for help.
i.

De vrtJl)vv van uw oom is uw _ __

2.

De brodwn jullie vader is jullie _ __

J De moeder van mijn vader is mijn _ __

4. De grootvader van hun zoon is hun

/ _ __

5. De vader van jouw broer is jouw _ __

6. De zus van haar man is haar

7. De oom

van

8. De tante van

---

zijn zoon is zijn

uw dochter is uw

/ _ __
/ _ __

27

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Now it's your turn to practice everything you've learned so far
by putting it to practical use in to your Dutch jou mal. W rite
down an imaginary conversation you might have with someone making small talk about family. Write down questions he
or she might ask you, and your responses, as wel! as questions
you might ask.
It may still be a bit early for you to have actual conversations
in Dutch, but you can challenge yourself by "lurking" in chat
rooms and watching other people's conversations to see how
much you understand. You can find Dutch chat rooms at chat.
startpagina.nl. Some other websites where you'll find information related to this lesson's topic are: www.jongegezinnen.nl,
www.babyinfo.nl, or www.linkingfamilie.nl. Remember that
the internet is a great resource for learning languages ! Explore,
bookmark, and have fun !

ANSWER KEY
A.I. goedemiddag; 2. met; 3. mijn;+ grootmoeder ; 5. ben ; 6. groet;
7. tot ziens
B.1.heb;2.hebt; 3.hebben;+heeft; 5.hebben; 6. heeft
C.I. ik heb geen hond; 2. wij zijn Duitsers; 3. mijn; 4. zij hebben geen
cadeau; 5. nee; 6. wij/we
D.1. Helen's family is at home. 2. There's the dog's bone. 3. Uncle

Hans' house is very small. 4. 1 have a grandpa and a grandma.

5. Zijn moeder is heel jong en heel mooi . 6. Wie heeft jullie boek?
7. Anna heeft een dochter.

E.I. tante; 2. oom; 3. grootmoeder or oma; 4. vader/schoonvader ;

5. vader; 6. schoonzus; 7. broer/zwager; 8. zus/schoonzus

28

LESSO N

Welkom in mijn huis!

Welcome to my home!

In this lesson you 'll learn your way around a home in Dutch. You'll
learn how to use adjectives to give descriptions, and you'll also
learn how to talk about things in the plural. Finally, you'll become
acquainted with the very useful phrases er is (there is) and er zijn
(there are). But before we get into that, let's begin with a vocabulary
warm-up and learn how to count.

JA. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

tien

ten

negen

nine

acht

eight

zeven

seven

zes

six

vijf

five

vier

Jour

drie

three

twee

two

one

nul

zero

Jl.

D~IALOGUE

Tijmen, a young man, is visiting his girlfriend Marloes and her parents in the house they live in. lt is the first time that he's meeting
her parents. He has an appointment at seven o'doek.
29

Tijmen: Dag, Marloes! Hier ben ik! Hoe gaat het?

Marloes: Dag, Tijmen. Goed! Kom binnen!
Tijmen: Dank je. Sorry, maar ik ben tien minuten te
vroeg. Het is nog geen zeven uur.
Marloes: Dat maakt niets uit. Mijn ouders komen zo,
maar ik moet de woonkamer nog opruimen.
Let maar niet op de rommel. Wat is dat een
mooi boeket bloemen!
Tijmen: Dat is niet voor jou, maar voor je moeder!
Marloes: En voor mij?
Tiijmen: Voor jou een klein kusje ...
Marloes: Ok, maar volgende keer, ook voor mij
bloemen!
Tijmen: Ja, dat doe ik ... Mooi huis! En die groene
stoelen hier, wat leuk!
Marloes: Leuk? Ben je gek! Ik vind de groene stoelen
vreselijk! Kijk maar! Alle meubels in deze
kamer zijn groen: de tafel, zes stoelen, vier
kasten, twee banken en zelfs de televisie! In
elke kamer is er een andere kleur!
Tijmen: Dat is ... origineel. Welke kleuren hebben
de andere kamers?
Marloes: Er zijn in dit huis vijf kamers: een groene
woonkamer, drie slaapkamers met de
kleuren geel, oranje en bruin, en een grijze
badkamer. Er is ook een blauwe keuken. De
zolder en de kelders hebben geen speciale
kleur.
Tijmen: Dat is logisch. En het toilet?
Marleos: Het toilet beneden is wit, en het andere
toilet boven is geel.
Tijmen: Nee, waar is het toilet?
Marloes: Oh, ja ... Hier in de gang, links naast
de voordeur. Er is nog een toilet in de
badkamer op de eerste verdieping, meteen
rechts van de trap.
Tijmen: Ik ga wel naar de wc beneden. Ik vind wit
mooier dan geel ...
30

Marloes: Tijmen!
Tijmen. Sorry ... een klein grapje. Ik kom zo terug.
Marloes: Haast je niet. Ik zal je zo het huis laten zien.
Wil je een kopje koffie?
Tijmen: Ja, graag! Zwart, in een blauw kopje, met een
rood schoteltje, in de groene woonkamer,
alsjeblieft!

Tijmen: Hi, Marloes. Here I am! How's it going?

Marloes: Hi, Tijmen. Good! Come in!
Tijmen: Thanks. Sorry, but J'm ten minutes early. It isn't
seven o'clock yet.
Marloes: lt doesn't matter. My parents wil! be here soon,
but I have to straighten up the living room first.
Don't pay any attention to the mess. What a
beautiful bouquet offlowers that is!
Tijmen: That's not for you, but for your mother!
Marloes: And for me?
Tijmen: Por you a little kiss.
Marloes: Okay, but next time flowers for me, too !
Tijmen: Yes, I'll do that. Beautiful house! And these
green chairs here, how nice !
Marloes: Nice? Are you crazy? I find the green chairs
awful! Look! All the fumiture in this room is
green: the table, six chairs, Jour cabinets, two
benches and even the television! There's a
different color in every room!
Tijmen: That's ... original. What colors are the other
rooms?
Marloes: There are five rooms in this house: a green
living room, three bedrooms with the colors
yellow, orange, and brown, and a gray
bathroom. There is also a blue kitchen. The
attic and the cellarjbasement aren't any color
in particular.
Tijmen: That makes sense. And the toilet?
Marloes: The downstairs toilet is white, and the other
toilet upstairs is yellow.
31

Tijmen: No, where is the toilet?

Marloes: Oh, yeah . .. Here in the hall, to the left of
the front door. Th ere's another toilet in the
bathroom on the second Jlnor, right on the
right hand side of the stairs.
Tijmen : I'll go to the toilet downstai rs. I find white
prettier than yellow .. .
Marloes : Tijmen!
Tijmen: Sorry, a little joke. J'll be right back.
Marloes : Take your time. I'll show you around the house
in a bit. Do you want a cup of coffee?
Tijmen : Yes, please ! Black, in a blue cup, with a red
saucer, in the green living room, please 1

3C. VOCAB ULARY

alle

all

alsof

as if

ander

different

anders

different ly, in another way

badkam er (de)

bathroom

bank (de)

settee, bench, couch

bed (het)

bed

begane grond (de)

first ffoor*

beneden

downsta irs

bloem (de)

flow er

boeket (het)

bouquet

boven

upstairs

eerst

first, at first

eerste

first (sequent ially)

eerste verdiep ing (de)

second floor*

*In the Netherla nds-and most of Europe, for that matter-t he numbe ring ot
tlw
levels in buildings starts at the second floor, instead of the ground floor: begane
grond (first floor, ground floor), eerste verdiepin g (second floor) , tweede verdiepin
g
(third floor), etc.
32

elk

each, every

even

fora while

gang (de)

hall

grapje (het)

{little) joke

huiskamer (de)

living room

kamer (de)

room

kast (de)

cup board

kelder (de)

cel/ar

keuken (de)

kitchen

kleur (de)

color

koffie (de)

coffee

laten zien

to show

links

to the left

meteen

immediately

meubel (het)

piece offurniture

minuut (de)

minute

moeten

to have to, must

natuurlijk!

of course!

opruimen

to tidy up, to straighten up

overloop (de)

landing

rechts

to the right

rommel (de)

mess

slaapkame r (de)

bedroom

stoel (de)

chair

tafel (de)

table

te vroeg

too early

televisie (de)

television

thee (de)

tea

toch

yet

toilet (het)

toilet

trap (de)

stairs

tuin (de)

garden
33

tweede

second

tweede verdieping (de)

third floor

voordeur (de)

front door

wc (de)

toilet

woonkamer (de)

living room

zeven uur

seven o 'doek

zolder (de)

attic, loft

30. KEY PHRASES

Here are some phrases that will com e in handy when visiting som< '
one 's home.

34

Welkom!

Welcome!

Je hebt een mooi huis!

You have a heautiful house .1

Het is hier gezellig.

Jt 's nice/ cozy here.

We hebben drie slaapkamers.

We have three bedrooms.

De keuken is klein, maar de

woonkamer is groot.

The kitchen is small, but th e liviny

room is hig.

We huren een flat.

We rent an apartment.

Wij bezitten een huis dicht bij

de stad.

We own a house near the city.

Let niet op de rommel!

Don 't pay any att entio11 to th e

mess!

Ik moet de kamer nog

opruimen.

1 still have to stmighten up the

room.

Doe alsof je thuis bent!

Make ,voursl'!f ut horne .'

Ga zitten!

Please sit rlow11 .'

Waar is het toilet?

Wlwre is tlw toile t ?

Het is de tweede deur rechts.

lt's the sernnd door 011 the ri9ht

Het is naast de voordeur.

lt 's rwxt to the fro11t door

Wilt u een kopje koffie/thee?

Do you (/ml. sg.) wunt u cup

rnffee/ tPr1 I

11/

JE. CULTURE NOTE 1

If you are ever invited to visit a Dutch person at his or her home,
it's a good idea for you to be on time. While it may be acceptable for
you to arrive "fashionably late" in your own culture, the Dutch (in
genera}, of course!) area time-conscious people, so don't be late for
appointments. You may be invited for a cup of coffee, maybe along
with a light snack. Don't expect a full meal unless you're specifically
invited for one. If you're invited to someone's home, you should
bring a little present, for instance some flowers, and when the invitation includes a meal, bring a battle of wine. One thing that you
might have heard about the Dutch is that they tend to be, well, "economical!" Of course that's a stereotype, and stories about visitors
to Dutch homes being offered a cup of tea and a single cookie are
exaggerations. If you're interested in an outsider's view of Dutch
culture, it might be amusing for you to read The UnDutchables by
Colin White and Laurie Boucke.

3F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point 1: The plural of nouns

There are two main ways to make Dutch nouns plural. The most
common is to simply add -en to the singular. In conversation, this
ending is usually pronounced like the a in sofa rather than a full en.
Don't forget that the definite article (the) is always de in the plural,
even for het-nouns.
de plank (the she/f)

de planken (the shelves)

de krant (the newspaper)

de kranten (the newspapers)

de kleur (the co/or)

de kleuren (the co/ors)

de vrouw (the woman)

de vrouwen (the wamen)

het boek (the book)

de boeken (the books)

There are just three little wrinkles that you have to keep in mind
about Dutch spelling and pronunciation, and they're all relevant to
the plurals formed with -en. First, the ending -s will change to -z before -en is added, and -f will change to -v before -en is added. (Think
of scarflscarves in English.) This change often happens after long
vowels and diphthongs, and also after the consonants -r, -1, -m, or n.
See the pronunci~tion section if you need a review on the di stinction between:long vowels, short vowels, and diphthongs.
35

het huis (the house)

de huizen (the houses)

de doos (the box)

de dozen (the boxes)

de brief (the letter)

de brieven (the letters)

de neef (the nephew/cousin)

de neven (the nephews/cousins)

de werf (the wharf)

de werven (the wharves)

de gans (the goose)

de ganzen (the geese)

Second, a final consonant will double before -en is added in order

to retain a short pronunciation of the vowel before it. For example,
in the noun bed (bed), thee is short, pronounced pretty much like
the vowel in English bed. In the plural, the d has to double to keep
that eh pronunciation in bedden. That's because beden, according
to Dutch spelling rules, would be pronounced BAY-den, with a long
vowel. You probably remember from the pronunciation section
that this has to do with where syllables are divided in writing. If a
syllable or word ends with a consonant, then it is a closed syllable
and its vowel is short: bed, bed-den. But if a syllable or word ends
with a vowel, then it is open and its vowel is long: be-den. lf this
seems odd to you, just think of English big-biggest, run-runner, loglogged, set-setting. Here are some more Dutch examples.
de man (the man)

de mannen (the men)

het bot (the bone)

de botten (the bones)

het toilet (the toilet)

de toiletten (the toilets)

; het hek (the gate)

de hekken (the gates)

de klok (the c/ock)

de klokken (the clocks)

de trap (the stairs)

de trappen (the stairs (multiple)/

steps)

de rat (the rat)

de ratten (the rats)

*In Dutch, stairs are referred to in the singular: de trap. The plu ral form trappen is
used when referring to multiple stairways. This is also the case for some other nouns
'
like de bril (the pair of glasses), and de broek (the pair of pants).

Third, double vowels will often become single when -en is added .
This is best explained by comparing a few nouns with Jong and
short vowels. As you just learned, man (man) and bot (hone) haw
short vowels, and in order to retain the shortness in the plmal. the
final consonant is doubled: mannen (men) and botten (hones) .
Compare that to maan (moon) and boot (boat), which of course
36

have long vowels. In the plural, with -en added, there's no reason
to keep the double vowel to show long pronunciation, because the
syllable division will show you that the vowels are long any way:
ma-nen and ho-ten. So, the double vowel becomes a single one to
avoid redundancy in the spelling.
de maan (the moon)

de manen (the moons)

de naam (the name)

de namen (the names)

, de boot (the boot)

de boten (the boots)

het kantoor (the office)

de kantoren (the offices)

de neef (the cousin/nephew)

de neven (the cousinslnephews)

het vuur (the fire)

de vuren (the fires)

Now let's look at the second common plural ending in Dutch, which
is -s, just like English. All diminutives (ending in the suffix -je),
nouns ending with unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er and -e, and many
loanwords from English and French take -s in the plural. A few
other endings, such as people's titles ending in -aar, -erd, and -ier
also take-sin the plural. If a noun ends in -a or -o, the plural will be
formed with an apostrophe, -' s.
de meisjes (the girls)
het huisje (the little house)

:lltkeukentje (the small kitchen)

de huisjes (the little houses)

de keukentjes (the small kitchens)

de regel (the rule)

de regels (the ru/es)

de winkel (the store)

de winkels (the stores)

de bezem (the broom)

de bezems (the brooms)

de keuken (the kitchen)

de keukens (the kitchens)

de kelder (the cel/ar, basement)

de kelders (the cel/ars, basements)

: de studente (the female student)

de studentes (the fema/e students)

; de mountainbike (the mountain

bike)

de mountainbikes (the mountain

bikes)

het caf (the pub)

de cafs (the pubs)

de metselaar (the brlcklayer)

de metselaars (the brick/ayers)

de kruidenier (tfre gro.cer)

de kruideniers (the grocers)

de oma (the grandmother)

de oma's (the grandmothers)

de auto (the car)

de auto's (the cars)

37

There are also a few cases that are slightly irregular, as in any language. A few common nouns have a short vowel in the singular, but
a long one in the plural.
de weg (the rood)

de wegen (the roods)

het dak (the roof)

de daken (the roofs)

het glas (the glass)

de glazen (the glasses)

het schip (the ship)

de schepen (the ships)

de stad (the city)

de steden (the cities)

There are also some het-nouns that take -eren in the plural.
het kind (the chifd)

de kinderen (the children)

het ei (the egg)

de eieren (the eggs)

het been (the bone)

de beenderen (the bones)

het lied (the song)

de liederen (the songs)

het blad (the teat)

de bladeren (the leaves)

With loanwords from Greek or Latin, you'll sometimes find plurals

derived from the original language. These forms are more aften
used in formal or academie settings.
het museum (the museum)

de museums/musea (the museums)

de collega (the co/league)

de collega's/collegae (the
co/leagues)
de crisissen/crises (the crises)
de dogma's/dogmata (the dogmas)

Grammar point z: Adjective agreement

Adjectiv~s are desc~ipti:e words, such as goed (good), slecht (bad),

groot (big, tall), klem (lzttle, short), mooi (beautiful), schoon (clean),
rood (red) and so on. You can use adjectives after a verb like zijn (to
be) to describe nouns.
De kinderen zijn klein.
The children are small.
De stoel is groen.
The chair is green.
38

Het huis is rood.

The house is red.
De handdoek is schoon.
The towel is clean.
De leraar is boos.
The teacher is angry.
Mijn oom is dik en mijn tante is dun.
My uncle is fat, and my aunt is thin.

In Dutch, just as in English, you can also use an adjective right before a noun. In this case, the adjective will usually agree with that
noun by taking on the ending -e.
Wie zijn de kleine kinderen?
Who are the small children?
Ik heb een groene stoel.
I have a green chair.

But, as you might have guessed, the same types of spelling changes
that you saw with noun plurals will happen when you add the
agreement ending -e. Adjectives that end in -s or -f will change it to
-z or -v after long vowels, diphthongs, and certain consonants. Also,
consonants will double to preserve short vowels, and double vowels
will become single vowels to avoid redundancy in the spelling.
Ik vind het rode huis mooi.
I find the red house pretty./I like the red house.

Waar is de schone handdoek?

Where is the clean towel?
De boze man is onze leraar.
The angry man is our teacher.
De dikke man is mijn oom en de dunne vrouw is mijn tante.
The fat man is my uncle and the thin woman is my aunt.

There are just a few cases where adjectives don't take agreement
endings even though they're used right before a noun. When a singular het-noun is used with een (a/an) or geen (no, none, not any),
then the adjective doesn't take -e. A few other words trigger this
non-agreement with het-nouns, hut we'll comeback to those later.
Also, there's no agreement in phrases including and adjective and a
het-noun, without any article, as in mooi weer (beautiful weather)
and groen gras (green grass) below.
Dit is een goed boek.
This is a good book.

39

Zij heeft een klein huis, en hij heeft een groot huis.
She has a small house, and he has a big house.
We hebben geen nieuw meubels tuk.
We don 't have a new piece offurniture.
Mooi weer is heel leuk!
Beautiful weather is very nice !
Ik houd van groen gras.
I like green grass.

Don't forget that these cases only involve sing~lar . het-nouns . With
plural het-nouns, or with de-noun s, there is ad1ect1ve agreeme nt.
Ik houd van goede boeken.
I like good books.
We hebben geen nieuwe keuken.
We don't have a new kitchen.

The other cases where there 's no -e agreeme nt involve adj ectives
that end in-a, -e, -o, -i, -y and-en, such as lila (lilac) , oranje (orange) .
kaki (khaki), albino (albino), sexy (sexy), dronken (drunk) . and timide (shy), and adjectives denotin g material s, such as ijzeren (iron),
gouden (golden), houten (wooden) , platina (platinum) ,and nylon
(nylon). There's no agreeme nt with these adjectiv es regardle ss of
gen der.
De oranje sokken zijn mooi.
The orange soeks are pretty.
Ik vind het gouden horloge leuk.
I like the gold watch.
Grammar point 3: Er is, er zijn, het is and het zijn

The phrases er is and er zijn mean there is and there are, respectively, in Dutch. Just as in English, you use these phrases to introduce somethi ng new in convers ation, so you typicall y use er is
and er zijn before phrases with een (a/an), geen (no, not any), wat
(a few, some), weinig (few, a little) een beetje (a little bit) , genoeg
(enough), veel (mucb/many), and number s.
Er is een groot probleem .

There is a big problem.

Er zijn veel grote problem en.

There are many big problems.

40

Er zijn zeven kamers in het huis.

There are seven rooms in the house.
Er is geen brood.
There's no bread.
Er zijn weinig mensen in de winkels vandaag.
There are few people in the stores today.
Is er genoeg water?
Is there enough water?
Er zijn wat eieren in de koelkast.
There are afew eggs in the refrigerator.
Veel, meer, genoeg, and een beetje are all words that trigger nonagreement with adjectives used with singular het-nouns, so you
don't add -e in these cases.
Er is veel heet water in de pot.
There's a lot of hot water in the pot.
Is er genoeg vers brood?
Is there enough fresh bread?
Er is nog een beetje oud meel in de kast.
There's still a little bit of old flour in the cupboard.

If you're referring to something that has already been introduced

in conversation, you wouldn't use er, hut rather het (it), dit (this) , or
dat (that). In fact, you can use het, dit, and dat with both singular
and plural nouns, so they can also be translated as they, these, and
those, respectively.
frt is een groot probleem.
!t's a big problem.
Het zijn grote kamers.
They 're big rooms.

Dit is goed brood.

This is good bread.
Dit zijn kleine eieren.
These are small eggs.
Dat OliJ:Ze nieuwe leraar.

That's our new teacher.

Dat zijn onze nieuwe leraren.

These are our new teachers.

41

JG. READING
Read the following letter written by a student who is writing to
a friend about her new apartment. Can you understand the new
words from context?

Lieve Anja,
Mij nieuwe flat is echt geweldig. Ik woon hier met twee andere
studenten van de universiteit. We hebben drie slaapkamers, een
grote woonkamer en een kleine keuken. Onze woonkamer is
heel mooi met een groot rood kleed, een nieuwe televisie, veel
boekenplanken, een comfortabele (maar lelijke!) bank en een
paar stoelen. In de keuken hebben we een oud fornuis en een
oude koelkast, een magnetron, een koffiezetapparaat en een erg
smalle tafel met vier stoelen. Er zijn veel borden, schalen, kopjes en glazen in de kasten, maar nog meer in de gootsteen. Mijn
slaapkamer is klein, maar rustig en gezellig. Ik heb een bed, een
bureautje, een oude leunstoel waarin ik vaak zit te lezen, en enkele planken. Al mijn kleren zitten in een kast. Het is vandaag
mijn beurt om te koken. Daarom stop ik nu en ga ik gauw naar
de keuken. Tot schrijfs !

-Marlies

Dear Anja,
My new apartment is really great. 1 live here with two other students
from the university. We have three bedrooms, a big living room, and
a small kitchen. Our living room is really nice, with a big red carpet, a new television, l~ts of book shelves, a comfortable (but ugly !)
couch, and a few chmrs. In the kitchen we have an old stove and
refrigerator, a microwave, a coffee maker, and a very narrow table
with Jour chairs. There are lots_ of plates, bowls, cups, and glasses in
the cupboards, but even more m the sink! My bedroom is small but
quiet and cozy. I've got a bed, a small desk, an old armchair wh~re l
G cl oset.
my clothes a re m
sit reading, and some shelves All or
often
'J
,
It s. my turn to cook today, so /'Il stop naw and go to th e k.t
z c hen. J'll
wrzte to you again.
-Marlies
42

3H. CULTURE NOTE 2

Colors

The eleven basic colors in Dutch are : rood (red), geel (yel/ow).
blauw (blue), oranje (orange), groen (green) , paars (purple), bruin
(brown), roze (pink), grijs (gray), wit (white), and zwart (black). You
can be more precise about a color by saying that it is licht (light) or
donker (dark), and these words are combined with the colors in a
compound word, as in lichtrood (light red) or donkerblauw (dark
blue).
Speaking of colors, because there is so much brick architecture in
the Netherlands, you 'll see a lot of red, brown, or yellow-the colors
of baked day-in the country. The day for these bricks is generally
local, found along the many rivers in the country. In fact, if you
travel along a Dutch river, a common sight will be the tall chimneys
belonging to brickyards where the day is baked. But the Netherlands isn't all about reddish earth tones, of course. The wood in
older houses is typically painted in beige, clark green, or <lark blue.
If you're familiar with Delftware, you know that this blue and white
pottery is famous throughout the world. And of course there are the
tulips and other flowers that you can find throughout the country,
induding Amsterdam's bloemenmarkt (flower market). And even
though the colors of the Dutch flag are rood, wit, and blauw, no
discussion of Dutch colors would be complete without oranje, but
that deserves its own note, so we'll carne back to it later. For more
information, check out these sites:
www.amsterdam.info

Everything about the city, including

images and information about the
bloemenmarkt (flower market).

www.delft.nl

About the Dutch city of Delft,

including of course Delfts blauw
(Delft Blue), the famous pottery.

EXER(ISES
Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You do
not need to use every word in the list.
rode, tuin, man, vroeg, klaar, is, zijn, opruimen
Mevrouw Jansen: Ik ben vijf minuten te
geen vier uur.

1 _ _ _.

Het is nog
43

Mevrouw Pieters : Dat is niet erg, maar ik moet de keuken nog

2

Mevrouw Jansen: Dat 3 _ __ een prachtige 4 _ __ _ bank.

Mevrouw Pieters: Dank u. Er 5 _ _ __ m aar weinig van zulke
banken.
Mevrouw Jansen: Zijn de nieuwe stoelen al 6 _ _ __?
Mevrouw Pieters: Nee, mijn 7 _ __ heeft daarvoor nog geen
tijd.

B. Give the plural form of each of these nouns , and translate your
answers.
1.

kamer

2.

bank

3. tuin

4. auto
5.hond

6. bed
7. kelder

8.keuken

9. vrouw
io. zolder
II.

buur

12.

neef

C. Choose the right form of each adjective.

1.

Dit is een blauw/blauwe kamer.

2.

Het is een groot/grote jongen.

3. Hij heeft geen rijk/rijke ouders.

+Dat zijn heel mooi/mooie huizen.

5. Onze hond is dik/dikke.

6. Het zwart/zwarte meubelstu k is prachtig/p rachtige.
44

7. Wat een lief/lieve kind!

8. Dat zijn hele goed/goede boeken.
D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
i.

This is a big living room.

2. There

are three black dogs in the cellar.

3. Those are nice parents.

4. The old man has a young wife.
5. lt's a beautiful color.
6. The kitchens are white.
7. There's a little bit of bread.
8. Are there eggs in the refrigerator?

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Imagine that you're showing a Dutch friend around your house
or apartment. Write about ten sentences in your Language
Journal listing the rooms and items that there are in your
house, and use adjectives to describe them. For inspiration, or
a good comprehension challenge, check out these Dutch real
estate websites: www.funda.nl, www.koopwoning.net, or www
.academica.nl. You can also check out these furniture sites for
even more vocabulary: www.kwantum.nl, www.ikea.com/nl,
and www.berden.nl.

ANSWI KEY
A.i. vroeg; 2. opruimen; 3. is; 4. rode; 5. zijn; 6. klaar; 7. man

B. 1. kamers (rooms); 2. banken (benches, couches); 3. tuinen (gardens); 4. auto's (cars); 5. honden (dogs); 6. bedden (beds); 7. kelders
(cellars, basements); 8. keukens (kitchens); 9. vrouwen (women);
10. zolders (attics); 11. buren (neighbors); 12. neven (cousins/nephews)
45

; '). dik; (i. zwar te, praclltir

h
C.l. blauw e; 2 . grote ; {. rijke; 4. mooi e
7. lief; 8. goed e
dri(' zwar te hond en in df
D. 1. Dit is een grote woonkanH>r. 2 . h zijn
rnan hedt \'<11 joncrr.
oude
Ik
rs.+
kelde r. 3. Dat zijn aardi ge oude
zijn wit. 7. Er is f;n
ens
keuk
De
.
(1
.
kl('lll
vrouw . 5. Het is een mooi e
ast/
beetj e brood . 8. Zijn er eiere n in de koelk

46

LESSO N

Een gewone dag

A regular day
This lesson focuses on everyday life, so you'll learn a lot of new
vocabulary that will help you talk about your daily routine, including verbs. Naturally you'll also learn how to use those verbs, which
means that you'll learn the present tense conjugation in Dutch. To
do that, we'll take another look at the spelling rules that you learned
in the last lesson when you were introduced to plurals. But that's
not all; you'll also learn about object pronouns, and you'll continue
with counting, this time from eleven to twenty. We'll do that right
in the vocabulary warm-up.

1tA. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

elf

eleven

twaalf

twelve

dertien

thirteen

veertien

fourteen

vijftien

fifteen

zestien

sixteen

zeventien

seventeen

achttien

eighteen

negentien

nineteen

twintig

twenty

Jan and. Marie are a married couple living in a small town in the
Netherlands. Listen in as they get ready to begin their days.
47

Jan: Morgen Marie, wakker worden en opstaan!

De wekker gaat.
Marie: Dag schat, ook goedemorgen. Ik blijf no?
vijftien minuten liggen. Daarna douche 1k
me en kleed ik me aan.
Jan: Ok, ik breng je de krant uit de brievenbus
en ik maak ontbijt voor jou.
Marie: Ja, fijn dat je dat voor mij doet. Krijg ik dan
ook een beschuitje met hagelslag? Dat vind
ik zo lekker.
Jan: Ja hoor. Ik heb nog achttien minuten. Dan
moet ik me wassen, scheren en mijn tanden
poetsen.
Marie: Er is nog genoeg tijd. Kijk eens in de krant.
Er komen leuke films op tv vanavond. Ze
staan op pagina elf, denk ik.
Jan: Nee, ze staan niet op pagina elf, maar op
pagina dertien. Er komt om halftwaalf een
film op kanaal veertien.
Marie: Dat wordt te laat voor mij. Morgen ga
ik twintig minuten eerder naar kantoor.
's Middags ga ik met een klant lunchen. Doe
jij vandaag een kaartje op de bus voor Piet?
Het is morgen zijn verjaardag.
Jan: Dat is goed. Ik schrijf er dan ook een voor
mijn moeder en ik vraag haar voor het diner
op zestien januari.
Marie: Goed, dan zien we haar ook weer eens. Maar
nu ga ik. Bus zeventien en negentien zijn al
geweest. Ik poets gauw mijn tanden en loop
naar het station. Tot vanavond!
Jan: Tot vanavond. We eten dan hutspot. Fijne
dag!

fan: Morning Marie, wake up and get out of bed.'

The alarm clock's going off
Marie: Morning to you, too, sweetie. J'm going to stay
in bed (/it., keep lying down) another jijteen
minutes. After that til take a shower and J'll
get dressed.
48

fan: Okay, /'Il bring you the newspaper from the

mailbox, and /'ll make some breakfast for you.
Marie: Yes, that's nice of you. Do I get a piece of
biscuit with chocolate sprinkles, too? I like that
so much.
' Jan: Sure. /'ve still got eighteen minutes. Then I have
to get washed, shave and brush my teeth.
Marie: There's plenty of time. Take a look in the
newspaper. There are some good movies on TV
tonight. They're on page eleven, I think.
fan: No, they're not on page eleven, but on page
thirteen. There's a movie storting at eleven
thirty on channel fourteen.
Marie: That'll be too late for me. Tomorrow I go to the
office twenty minutes earlier. At noon I have
lunch with a dient. Will you put a postcard
in the mail for Piet today? !t's his birthday
tomorrow.
Jan: All right. J'Ll write another one for my mother,
too, and /'IL invite her to dinner on f anuary
sixteenth.
Marie: Right, it will be nice to see her again. But J've
got to get going naw (Lit., now J'm leaving).
Buses seventeen and nineteen have come by
already. J'll brush my teeth quickly and walk to
the train station. See you tonight !
fan: See you tonight! We're having (Zit., then we'll
eat) hutspot. Have a nice day!

4C. VOCABllLARY
zich aankleden

to get dressed

aflopen

to go off (as in an alarm)

avond(de;avonden)

evening

bad (het; baden')

bath

baden

to bathe

beginnen :

to begin, to start

besftY,it (de; beschuiten)

hard biscuit, zwieback, hard toast,

rusk
49

brengen

to bring

brievenbus (de; -bussen)

mailbox. mail slot

denken

to think

diner (het; diners)

dinner

dineren

to dine

doen

to do

douchen

to take a shower

drank(de;drank en)

drink

drinken

to drink

eerder

earlier

eten

to eat

eten (het)

food

film (de; films)

movie, film

gaan

to go

genoeg

enough

hagelslag (de)

chocolate sprinkles

kanaal (het; kanalen)

channel

kantoor (het; kantoren)

office

kijken

to look

klant (de; klanten)

dient, customer

komen

to come

krant (de; kranten)

newspaper

krijgen

to get, to receive

lekker vinden

to like

leuk

good, funny, pleasant, amusing

liggen

to lie (down); to be (located)*

lunch (de; lunches)

lunch

*In Dutch you'll aften hear the verbs liggen (to lie} and staan (to stand} used where
English would use be. Liggen is normally used to describe a more or less flat posi
tion, as in het boek ligt op de tafel (the book is (lying) on the table}. Staan is used
more or less to describe an upright position, as in het boek staat in de boekenkast
(the book is (standing upright) on the bookshelj). By the way, text staat in books and
in newspapers.
50

lunchen

to have lunch

middag (de; middagen)

afternoon

morgen

tomorrow

morgen (de; morgens)

morning

nacht(de ;nachten )

night

nemen

to take

ontbijt (het; ontbijten )

breakfast

ontbijten

to have break/ast

schrijven

to write

savonds

in the evening

s middags

in the afternoon

s morgens

in the morning

staan

to stand (up); to be (located)

pagina (de; pagina's)

page

opstaan

to get up

poetsen

to clean, to brush

scheren

to shave

slapen

to sleep

station (het; stations)

station

tand (de7 tanden)

tooth

tijd (de; tijdeN)

time

tv (de; tv's)

TV

vanavond

tonight

vandaag

today

wakker worden

to wake up

wassen

to wash

weggaan

to go away, to leave

wekker (de; wekkers)

alarm clock

werken

to work

worden

to get, to become

zien

to see

51

1tD. KEY PHRASES

Here are some phrases that will help you talk about your daily
routine.
Ik word altijd vroeg wakke r.

I always wake up early.

Ik ga vandaa g naar mijn werk.

f'm going to work today.

Ik ga vandaa g naar school.

J'm going to school today.

Ik doe vandaa g boodsc happen .

til get groceries today.

We hebben vandaa g veel te

doen.

We have a lot to do today.

We eten gewoo nlijk thuis.

We usually eat at home.

Wat eten we vanavo nd?

What are we having for dinner

tonight?

Wie kookt er morge n?

Who 's cooking tomorr ow?

Hoe was je dag vandaa g?

How was your day today ?

Vanav ond gaan we uit.

Tonight we 're going out.

We gaan vaak naar de film.

We aften go to the movies .

Soms gaan we met vriend en

naar een restaur ant.

Someti mes we go to a restaur ant

with friends.

Ik lees 's avonds vaak een

boek.

I aften read a book in the evening.

Er is niets op tv.

There 's nothing on television.

4E. CULT URE NOTE 1

In the dialogue you heard Jan say that he and his wife were going
to
have hutspo t for dinner. Hutsp ot is a traditional Dutch stew
made
of potatoes, winter carrots, onion, and meat. Sta'!lp otten (dis
hes
with mashed potatoes mixed with greens and meat) are also typical of traditional Dutch cooking, for example a stamp pot made
of
potatoes with rookw orst (smoked sausage) and andijv ie (endive
s),
zuurko ol (sauerkraut), boeren kool (kale) or raapst elen (turnip
tops). Although meat is apart of these traditional dishes, vegetables
have actually been a central part of Dutch cooking for centur
ies,
and in earlier times Dutch people ate little meat. So if you ask
wat
eten we vanda ag? (what are we eating today?) you're likely to
hear
rodeko ol (red cabbage), groen e erwte n (green peas) or witte
bonen
52

(white navy beans) rather than varkensvlee s (park), kip (chicken),

or rundvlees (beef) . Salads are also popular, especially in the summer time. For breakfast, a Dutch favorite is hagelslag (chocola te
sprinkles) on bread. Tea and coffee are also a typical part of the
Dutch daily routine, often drunk with a beschuitje (a dry biscuit,
zwieback, or rusk). Indonesian cuisine has had a tremendous influence on Dutch cooking and eating habits, so alongside hutspot
you'll find that many Dutch people make nasi goreng (!ried rice) or
gadogado (salad with cucumber, bean sprouts, string beans, tofu,
peanut sauce and cooked rice) as part of their daily routines. If you
go to the Netherlands, be sure to try one of the many excellent Indonesian restaurants. But try something more "native" as well ! Perhaps a nieuwe haring (salted "new" herring), which is especially
delicious with jenever, the famous Dutch gin. Eet smakelijk! (Enjoy
your meal!)

4F. GRAMMAR

Grammar point 1: Object pronouns

In Lesson 1 you learned subject pronouns, which are used as the
subject of a sentence. Now let's look at object pronouns, which are
used as objects and after prepositions , just as in English.

[_~!~~-'~

me

lJoulje

you {infml. sg.)

you (fml.)

heml'm, haar/'r, het/'t

him, her, it

ons

US

jullie

you (infml. pl.)

hen (only for people)lze

them

Again there are stressed and unstressed varieties of a few different

pronouns. Mij (me), jou (you}, hem (him), haar (her) and het (it)
are stressed, and their unstressed forms are me, je, 'm, 'r and 't.
Stressed pronouns are usually used in writing, or in conversation
only to show emphasis. Otherwise, the unstressed forms are used,
just like the subject pronouns. Notice that there are two pronouns
for them. The first one, hen, is restricted to people, but ze can be
used generally.
53

Ik zie hem en hij ziet mij.

I see HIM and he sees ME. (stressed)
Ik zie 'm en hij ziet me.
I see him and he sees me. (unstressed)
Hoe gaat het met jullie?
How are you? (infml. pl.)
Wie kookt vanavond voor ons?
Who's cooking for us tonight?
Hij groet jou.
He is greeting you. (infml. sg. stressed)
Wij eten vanavond bij hen.
We're eating at their place tonight.

You may rarely come across the object pronoun hun (them) as wel!.
It's only used to refer to people, and only as an indirect object. But
most of the time Dutch people use aan hen (to them) instead.
Ik zeg het hun.
I say it to them.
Ik zeg het aan hen.
I say it to them.

Grammar point

:z: Verbs in the present tense

You've learned the conjugation of zijn (to be) and hebben (to
have), and you've already seen plenty of other verbs in Dutch in
this course. Now let's look at how to conjugate those in the present tense. The first thing to know about Dutch verbs is that the
infinitive form, which is like the English to form, usually ends in
-en. To conjugate a verb, you need to work with the stem, which is
the infinitive without the -en ending. So for example, the stem of
werken (to work), is werk. The stem is the ik form of the verb. For
the other singular forms, just add -t. And for the plural farms , add
-en, which of course means that plurals look like infinitives. Notice
that the present tense in Dutch can be translated as the simple present (works) or the present progressing (is working) in English. Jt's
also very often used to express the future, so you can even trans late
it with will. If you go back over the dialogue from this lesson, you'll
see several examples of that.

54

Ik werk

(stem)

I work/am working

jij/je werkt

(stem+ -t)

you (infml. sg.) workl

are working

u werkt

(stem + -t)

you (!ml.) work/are

working

hij, zij/ze, het/'t werkt

(stem + -t)

he, she, it works/is

working

wij/we werken

(stem+ -en)

we work/are working

(stem+ -en)

you (infml. pl.) workl

are working

(stem + -en)

they work/are working

----

- ~ ~- -- - - ~--- -- -- ---

'

i jullie werken
i

r;ij1z~~erken

!.- -------------

Almost all other verbs have the same conjugation. Examples that
you've seen are brengen (to bring) , denken (to think), krijgen (to
get/receive), drinken (to drink), kijken (to look), worden (to get/ to
become) and many others. And don't forget that the jij form loses
its -t in questions.
Ik werk in Amsterdam en hij werkt in Rotterdam.
I work in Amsterdam and he works in Rotterdam.
Wat drinken ze?
What are they drinking?
Hij brengt haar de krant.
He brings her the newspaper.

Wat denk je?

What do you think?

Even though the conjugation itself is very regular in Dutch, there

are some spelling changes that will happen to many verb sterns. But
you're already familiar with these; they're exactly the same changes
that happen in noun plurals and adjective agreement. If the stem
includes a short vowel, the consonants will be double in the infinitive and plural forms, hut single in the singular forms to avoid
redundancy. Examples are beginnen (to begin), liggen (to Zie), and
wassen (to wash). Here are the forms of beginnen as an example.
ik begin

wij/we beginnen

jij/je, u begint

jullie beginnen

hij, zij/ze, hetl't begint

zij/ze beginnen
55

Zitten (to sit) is the same, but there 's one more minor point to make
about it. Because its stem ends in a -t, there's no need to acid another -t in the singular forms that normally end in -t. All verbs
whose sterns end in -t are like this.
ik zit

wij/we zitten

jij/je, u zit

jullie zitten

hij, zij/ze, het/'t zit

zij/ze zitten

Zij ligt in bed.

She's lying in bed.

Jullie zitten naast ons.

You're sitting next to us.

Begint nu de film?
Is the movie starting now?
Another spelling change that you 're familiar with concerns long
vowels. If a verb stem contains a long vowel, the vowel will double
in the singular forms to preserve the vowel length. Some examples
are baden (to bathe), eten (to eat), lopen (to walk), nemen (to take),
slapen (to sleep), and vragen (to ask). Let's look at lopen.
ik lop

wij/we lopen

jij/je, u loopt

jullie lopen

hij, zij/ze, het/'t loopt

zij/ze lopen

There's one very common exception to this pattern. Komen (to

come) has a short vowel in the singular farms, hut a long vowel in
the plural.
1

ik kom

wij/we komen

, jij/je, u komt

jullie komen
zij/ze komen

Wat eten we vanavond?

What are we eating tonight?
Hij loopt snel naar het station.
He walks quickly to the station.
We komen niet terug!
We're not coming back!
56

And finally, the same alternation between z and s and v and f that
you've seen already happens in verb conjugations. Verbs ending in zen have a stem that ends in -s, and verbs ending in -ven have a stem
that ends in-f. Examples include blijven (to stay), schrijven (to write),
geven (to give), geloven (to believe), lezen (to read) and verhuizen (to
move). Here are the conjugations of geven and lezen as examples.

(!'-p~,I~;~~----- .
j Jl)lje, u geeft, leest

jullie geven, lezen

[~! zljlze~-~~'t:eeft, leest

zij/ze geven, lezen

wij/we geven, lezen

Ik geef je mijn nummer.

I'll give you my number.
Ze gelooft me niet!
She doesn't believe me!
Ze lezen veel hoeken in de bibliotheek.
They're reading a lot of hooks in the library.
Wat schrijf je?
What are you writing?
Grammar point 3: Verbs ending in - n

There area few infinitives in Dutch that don't end in -en, but rather
~n, JDJlowing a long vowel. You already know zijn (to be), which is
irregular. Other examples are gaan (to go), doen (to do), staan (to
stand) and zien (to see). In these verbs, the stem is simply the verb
infinitive minus the
and the plural farms retain the -n.

-n,

zien
zie
ziet
ziet

zien
i

Jullie

gaan

staan

.".n

doen

zien

doen

zien

~------------ - - ------

zij/ze

gaan

Ga je naar huis?
Are you going home?
57

De films staan op pagina dertien.

The films are (listed) on page thirteen.
Wat doen ze morgen?
What are they doing tomorrow?
Ik zie je!
1 see you!

46. READING
Read the following passage, written by Jan from our dialogue. You
already know a lot of the vocabulary and grammar that he uses, hut
see if you can figure the rest out from context. As usu al, the translation is provided to help you.

Het is vandaag een drukke dag. Marie gaat al vroeg naar haar
kantoor. Zij heeft een lunch met een belangrijke klant. Ik maak
thuis mijn cursus af. Daarna doe ik de boodschappen en kook ik
het avondeten. Marie komt om zeven uur thuis. We gaan naar
Piet vanavond. Hij viert zijn verjaardag. Hij wordt twintig jaar.
Ik heb al een cadeautje voor hem.
Today's a busy day. Marie's going to her office early. She's having
lunch with an important dient. J'm finishing up my course at home.
After that J'll get groceries, and J'll cook dinner. Marie will come
home at seven o'clock. We're going to Piet's tonight. He's celebrating
his birthday. He's turning twenty. J've already gat a present for him.

4H. CULTURE NOTE 2

Now that you have a pretty good amount of the Dutch language
under your belt, let's take a moment to talk about the history of the
Netherlands. The Netherlands, which of course literally means the
"Low Countries," was the name of seventeen territories that were
finally united under the Habsburg emperor Charles V in the early
161h century. The territories occupied the lands that would becorne
the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg of today, but in that
time these seventeen territories did not form a single state. Each of
them had its own laws and its own taxes. Charles V's son, Philip Il ,
wanted to unify the laws and the taxes, and as king of Spain, he also
wanted all of his subjects to be Roman Catholic. These goals met
with resistance in the Low Countries, and ultimately they sparked a
58

revolution in 1568. In the end, seven northern territories achieved

independenc y in 1648, forming the Dutch Netherlands. The ten
other territories remained under Spanish control, and later under
control of the Austrian empire, but today they form the independent states of Belgium and Luxemburg. The seven Dutch territories formed a confederatio n without a king, but with a parliament
in The Hague. They also had a common language, Dutch, which
grew more and more distinct from neighboring German dialects.
Within the confederatio n the most powerful territory was Holland, and the most influential city was Amsterdam. Traders from
the southern territories-s till under foreign control-fled to the
north, and the new republic flourished. During the 1 ih century, or
de Gouden Eeuw (the Golden Age), the Netherlands was a global
power. Trade was important, which brought the Dutch to all corners
of the earth. They established colonies across the globe, including
of course Nieuw Amsterdam, settled in 1612. This mighty republic lasted until 1795, when the French occupied the Netherlands.
In 1814 the Congress of Vienna founded a new state, the United
Kingdom of the Netherlands, incorporatin g most of the original
seventeen territories. Eventually Belgium broke away and gained
independenc e in 1830, and then Luxembourg fully broke away in
1890. The Netherlands remained neutral during WWI, hut was
invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII. After the
war, the Netherlands entered back into a union with Belgium and
Luxembourg , the economie partnership of Benelux. It also helped
establish NATO and the European Union.

EXl,RCISES
A. Translate each of the following phrases into Dutch. Write out
the numbers.
i.

five young men

2.

three Jall women

3. fifte~n new hooks

4. twu ~autiful houses

5. twelve busy days
6. twenty blue cars
59

B. Complete each sentence with the correct form of the Vf'.rh gi v1r1
in parentheses.
jij de krant naar de keuken? (to bring)

1.

2.

een cadeau voor Piet. (to buy)

Marie

3. Ik

niet naar New York. (to go)

jullie? (to sit)

4. Waar
5. U

vandaag niet thuis. (to have lunch)

zich 's middags. (to shave)

6. De mannen

geen ontbijt. (to make)

7. Nee, wij
8. Hij

zijn tanden elke dag. (to clean/brush)

9. Moeder

de krant. (to read)

io. Ik ___ morgen naar huis. (to come)

11.

Helen ___ in haar dagboek. (to wri te)

12.

Wie ___ er voor de deur? (to stand)

C. Rewrite each sentence, changing the underlined object noun in

parentheses to a pronoun.
1.

We staan naast (de kleine man).

2.

Ik kom morgen met (mijn vrienden).

3. Ze ziet (Piet en ik) . .

4. Ik geef een cadeau aan (mijn ouders).

5. Ik geloof (Marie) niet.

6. Hij spreekt met (jou en jou).
7. Ik lees (het boek).
8. Ik haal (de kranten) uit de brievenbus.
D. Translate the following sentences from Dutch. See if you can figure out any unfamiliar vocabulary or constructions by context .

60

I.

Vandaag vier ik mijn verjaardag.

2.

De wekker loopt af.

. Ik was me in de blauwe badkamer.

3
. De kinderen lopen naar het station.
4
. Neem je de krant uit de brievenbus?

6. De mannen gaan vroeg naar huis.

en aardappels.
7. Zij kookt vandaag wortels
8. De oude vrouw koopt een nieuw boek.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
In f9UI Language Journal, write about a typical day of yours,
either at home, at school, or at work. Try to use the verbs that
you've leamed in this lesson, of course in the ik form. For additional practice, write about someone else's day, obviously using
the ~ or zij form. For inspiration talking about daily life at
home, check out these sites: www.huishouden.startpagina.n l,
www.huishoudplaza.nl, and www.omaweetraad.com.

Have fun with this challenge, and don't forget to record any
new vocabulary you find in your journal !

lSEI

KEY

\(iff jonge mannen; 2. drie grote vrouwen; 3. vijftien nieuwe

boeken; 4. twee mooie huizen; 5. twaalf drukke dagen; 6. twintig
blauwe auto's

A.i.

B. 1. breng; .2. koopt; 3. ga; 4. zitten; 5. luncht; 6. scheren; 7. maken;

8. poetst; 9. leest; 10. kom; 11: schrijft; 12. staat
C.i. hem/m; 2. hen; 3. ons; 4. hen; 5. haarj'r; 6. jullie; 7. het/'t; 8. ze
D.i. Today J'm celebrating my birthday. 2. The alarm doek is going
off. 3. J wash myself in the blue bathroom. 4. The children walk/are
walking to the station. 5. Do you take/Are you taking the newspaper
out of the mailbox? 6. The men go/are going home early. 7. She's
cqoking carrots and potatoes today. 8. The old woman buys/is buyi ng a new book.

61

62

LESSO N

Op school
At school

In this lesson, you'll visit a Dutch school, which means that you'll
learn a lot of vocabulary that's useful for talking about school subjects and studying in general. You'll also continue to learn more
Dutch grammar that will help you express yourself. Furthermore,
you'll learn more about verbs and adjectives, and you'll learn how
to express likes and dislikes. So, let's get started with a vocabulary
warm-up!

5A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

atheneum (het; atheneums/
athenea)

high school

gymnasium (het; gymnasiums/

gymnasia)

high school (with Latin and Greek)

havo (de; havo's)

higher secondary school

hogeschool (de; hogescholen)

college (with Bachelor's degree)

universiteit (de; universiteiten)

university

vmbo-school (de; vmbo-scholen) lower secondary school (preparing

for intermediate vocational
education)
VWO

(het)

highschool (pre paring f or

university)

58. DllLOGUE
Daan and Marijke are at the same vmbo-school. Listen in as they
discuss their favorite subjects.
63

Daan: Hallo Marijke! Ben je zenuw achtig voor de

overho ring Duits van vanmid dag'?

Marijke: Ja, bij een overho ring kan ik niet sp~eken. Ik

vind Duits het moeilijkst. Ik houd met van
Duits, aardrij kskund e is veel leuker. Ik wil
dat de hele dag wel doen.
Daan: Dat is niks voor mij, ik heb daar een hekel
aan. Ik houd veel meer van tekene n dan van
aardrij kskund e.
Marijk e: Jouw tekenin gen zijn altijd de beste van de
klas. Wat voor potloo d gebrui k je eigenlijk?
Daan: Ik gebrui k het liefst een hard potloo d.
Zachte potlod en zijn minde r geschi kt voor
mijn technie k.
Marijk e: Op de basissc hool vond ik tekene n wel leuk,
maar nu mag het niet in mijn vakken pakket .
Ik heb al te veel vakken voor een
vmbo-school.
Daan: Ben jij dan zo'n studieb ol? Wil je niet veel
liever naar de havo?
Marijk e: Ja, dat wil ik wel, maar mijn Cito-toets was
daar nog niet goed genoeg voor. Misschien
kan ik dat na het exame n doen. Ik moet dan
wl goede cijfers halen.
Daan: Dan zul je goed je best moete n doen.
Het lijkt mij niets, ik ben geen uitslov er.
Wisku nde en geschi edenis zijn niet mijn
favorie te vakken . Ze mogen dat lekker
op het vwo doen. Ik wil toch niet naar de
univer siteit; vier jaar vmbo is wel genoeg.
Marijk e: Het hoeft ook voor mij niet veel langer te
duren. Die twee jaar havo kunne n er nog wel
bij. Dan heb ik ook meer studiek euze.
Daan: Dat moet je zelf weten. Jij bent slimm er dan
ik.
Marijk e: Mag ik een pen van je lenen? Ik heb er geen
in mijn etui.
Daan: Ik wil je mijn potloo d wel lenen, maar ik
vind het niet leuk als je hem kwijt maakt
hoor!
64

Marijke: Ik zal het teruggeven na de overhoring.

Daarna heb ik alleen nog gym. Dank je wel!

Daan: Hi Marijke! Are you nervous about the oral test

in German this afternoon?
Marijke: Yes, I can't copy in an oral test. J think German
is the hardest. 1 don't like German, geography
is much more Jun. I could do that all day long.
Daan: That's not my thing, 1 can't stand it.! prefer
drawing over geography.
Marijke: Your drawings are always the best in the class.
What kind of pencil do you use, by the way?
Daan: I prefer to use a hard pencil. Soft pencils are
less suitable for my technique.
Marijke: In elementary school J liked drawing, but now
I don't have that option (Zit., it's not allowed in
my course options).1 already have toa many
subjects fora vmbo-school.
Daan: Are you that crazy about studying? Wouldn't
you rather go to the havo?
Marijke: Yes, I want to do that, but my entrance exam
wasn't good enough for it. Maybe 1 can do it
after the finals. I have to get good grades then.
Daan: In that case you'll have to do your best. J'm
not too crazy about it. I don 't really go out of
my way. Mathematics and history aren't my
favorite subjects. They may do them in high
school. I don't want to go to the university
anyway. Four years of vmbo is enough.
Marijke: I don't want to stick it out much langer either.
But I could do those two years of havo. Then J'll
have more choices of things to study.
Daan: That's for you to decide. You're smarter than me.
Marijke: Can I borrow apen from you? l don't have any
in my case.
Daan: J'm happy to Zend my pencil to you, hut I won't
like it very much if you lose it, okay?
Marijke: I'll give it back to you after the test. After that I
only have PE. Thanks a lot!
65

SC. VOCABULAR Y
aardrijkskunde (de)

.<J<'Ofjr<lf'hy

hiologic (de)

hioloyy

blijven zitten

to

cijfer (het; cijfers)

ymde (ut school)

dan

in thal c<lse, tlwn

Duits (het)

Germmz

duren

to last

eigenlijk

rcally, act ually

Engels (het)

Erzylish

etui (het; etuis)

(perz/pencil) case

examen (het; examens)

exam

examen afleggen/doen

to take arz exam

examen afnemen

to examine, to yive arz exum

favoriet

favorite

Frans (het)

Frerzch

gemakkelijk

easy

geschiedenis (de;
geschiedenissen)

history

Grieks (het)

Greek

gymnastiek (de)

gym, PE

huiswerk (het)

homework

huiswerk maken

to do homework

Latijn (het)

Latin

leerling (de; leerlingen)

stay /wek, to r<'f W<ll

<1

qrwJ"

. student (elem.enwry or high school)

leraar (de; leraren/leraars)

teacher

lenen

to !end, to horrow*

leren

to learn, to teach*

*You may be surprised to learn that in Dutch, the same verb can nl('an

10

/eruf or 111

borrow, and the same verb can mean to teach or to study. Of course the ronttxt will
always make it clear what's being said. For example: Hij leert zijn kindenn zwem
men. (He teaches his children to swim.) Or: Zijn kinderen leren zwemmen van hem.

(His children learn to swimfrom him.)

66

Jeuk vinden

to enjoy, to like

liever willen

to prefer

lezen

to read

moeilijk

difficult, hard

muziek (de)

music

natuurkunde (de)

physics

Nederlands (het)

Dutch

niks

nothing, zilch (infml.)

overgaan

to move up a grade

overhoring (de; overhoringen)

test (oral)

proefwerk (het; -werken)

test (written)

scheikunde (de)

chemistry

rekenen (het)

calculus

schrijven

to write

slim

smart

spellen

to spell

spieken

to copy, to cheat by copying (infml.)

studiebol (de; -hollen)

bookworm

studiekeuze (de; -keuzes/

-keuzen)

choice of studies

taal (de; talen)

language

tkenen

to draw

tekening (de; tekeningen)

drawing

theoretisch

theoretica[

toets (de; toetsen)

test

uitslover (de; -slovers)

hard worker

vak (het; vakken)

subject(atschoo~

vakkenpakket (het; -pakketten)

chosen set of course options

vanmiddag

this afternoon

voor een examen slagen

to pass an exam

voor een examen zakken

to fail an exam

wiskunde (de)

math

67

ZWhl

\()ff

zenuwachti g

rwrvr>U .\

zijn uiterste best doen

to try

(1.\

hard as one uw

sD. KEY PHRASES

, in handy when 1ctlkiri"

Here are some key phrases t h at w111 comc
. . ..
.h
.
. wh
ng
Jikes and d1:,lih '> 1ri
about school suhiects,
or
en express1
gene ral.
J /ike studying history the most.
Ik leer het liefst geschieden is.

Zij houdt meer van Spaans.

She pre/ers Spanish.

Dat lijkt me niets.

J don't think much of it.jf'm not

/()rJ

crazy about it.

Ik teken graag.

J enjoy drawing.

Ik heb een hekel aan

aardrijksku nde.

J hate geography.

Dat is niets voor mij.

That's not really my thing.

Ik vind wiskunde veel leuker.

J like math a lot more.

Jij houdt meer van wijn dan

van bier?

You prefer wine over beer?

Dat is genoeg!

That will do!(That's enough .1

Dat vind ik leuk!

I like that!

Dat is onwijs gaaf!

That 's great! (infml.)

Dat is verreweg het best!

That's easily the best!

5E. CULTURE NOTE

In the Netherlands, all children go to a basisscho ol (primary;

elementary school) at the age of four. For the first two years , they're
in the kleutersch ool (kindergarten). At the age of twelve children
have a Cito-toets, which is a diagnostic test that's used to determine
which school children are most suited for. Children then go on to
different secondary schools, depending on the results of their Citotoets. Gymnasiu m (with Latin and Greek) and atheneum are cornparable to American high schools, although they are six years long
and meant specifically to prepare students for university studies.
68

The havo, which is an abbreviation of hoger algemeen voortgezet

onderwijs (higher genera[ continuing education), offers secondary
education that prepares students for de hogeschool or academie,
which are like American colleges with Bachelor's degrees. All other
students go to a vmbo-school (voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, or lower secondary school for preparing intermediate
vocational education) for a more practical-oriented education. After four years they may go either to an mbo-school (middelbaar
beroepsonderwijs, or tertiary school for vocational education), or
to the havo. In Belgium the names differ, hut the school system
is about the same. A graduate of a university used to be called a
doctorandus in the Netherlands and a licentiaat in Belgium. Nowadays both countries use the international title of master.
The oldest type of school in the Netherlands is the gymnasium.
Around the year 700, a seminary was founded near the bishop's
church in Utrecht. It educated boys as priests. Latin was spoken
there, since it was the language of the church and of science. Later
the cities took over these Latin schools. They educated boys for the
newly founded universities, where Latin remained the language of
instruction until the i9 1h century. Today students learn some Latin
and Greek in gymnasium, and English is often spoken at international scientific conferences, but Dutch is the language of instruction in all Dutch and Flemish schools and universities.

5F. GRAMMAR
&rmm.e r point

1: Expressing likes and dislikes

You've already seen a number of different ways of expressing likes

and dislikes in Dutch, hut let's take a closer look at a few of them
now, since they work a little bit differently in Dutch than they do
in English. One very useful adverb to know is graag, which means
something like gladly. If you use it with a verb, it means that you
like to do that thing. If you use liever it means that you 'd prefer or
would rather do that thing, and if you use het liefst it means that
you like that thing the most.

Ik leer graag biologie.

I like studying biology.
Ik leer liever aardrijktbmde.
I prefer studying geograplfy.
69

Ik leer het liefst Nederlands.

I like studying Dutch the most.

Anothe r really useful express ion is houden van (to love, to like) .
Ik houd* van jou.
I love you.

We houden van Frans eten.

We like French food.
Houdt zij meer van Spaans of van Duits?
Does she like Spanish or Gennan more?
The express ion iemand /iets leuk vinden (to find so:neone/ something nice) can also be used to mean like. Iets leuker vmden means
that you like something more, or you prefer it.
Ik vind Marie leuk, maar ik vind Jeanne leuker.
I like Marie, but I like Jeanne more.
Joos vindt school niet leuk.
Joos doesn't like school.

If you really don't like someon e or someth ing, the express ion een
hekel aan iemand /iets hebben (to hate someon e/somet hing) is very
useful.
Ik heb een hekel aan wiskun de.
I hate math.
Ze heeft echt een hekel aan die jongen.
She really hates that boy.

Grammar point

2: Making comparisons

Just like in English , most Dutch adjectiv es have degrees of compar

ison. Usually the compar ative is formed by adding -er to the end
of
the adjectiv e. The superla tive is formed by adding -st.
klein-kl einer-k leinst

small-smaller-smal/est

mooi-m ooier-m ooist

beautiful-more beautiful-most
beautiful

gelukki g-geluk kiger-ge lukkigst

happy-happier-happiest

gema kkelijk- gema kkelij kergemakkel ijkst

easy-easier-easiest

*In the first person singular, you usually write ik houd van, hut in spoken
language
the tl is not pronounced, soit wil! sound like hou instead of houd. You
may alsu see
that the d is left out in writing, as in ik hou van jou.
70

As you can see, even longer Dutch adjectives can take -er and -st.
But don't forget about your spelling changes.
, .--------- ...... .

!groot-groter-grootst

big - bigger-biggest

ii.;~=d~;~~;~d~~~

thin-thinner-thinnest

r&riJs-grijzer-grijst

gray-grayer-grayest

L-- -

If an adjective ends in -r, a -d will be inserted in the comparative.

This is a bit like the th in farther.

ji;.;k~:d;nkerder-donkerst
r;;~;:;.,~~-;d~r-~aarst

L_ ..

dark-darker-darkest
heavy-heavier-heaviest

There are only three irregulars to keep in mind.

[~~~=~~~~~b~~<! veel-meer-meest

good-better-best

!;;;.:g:.~lnder-minst

little/few-lesslfewer-leastlfewest

1.

much/many-more-most

You will see some comparatives with meer (more) and superlatives
with meest (most) with adjectives that are only used predicatively,
meaning with adjectives that come after a verb like zijn (to be)
rather than right before a noun. You'll also see this with adjectives
that are formed from past or present participles of verbs.
Zij is meer bereid tot onderhandelen.
She is more willing to negotiate.
Hij was het wachten het meest zat.
He was most fed up with waiting.
Dit is de meest gelezen krant.
This is the most read newspaper.

Adjectives ending with -st, -sd, -sch, -sk and -de use meest in the
superlative to avoid very clumsy consonant clusters.

vast-vaster-meest vast

fixed-more fixed-most fixed

verbaasd-verbaasder-meest
verbaasd

surprised-more surprised-most
surprised

logisch-logischer-meest logisch

/ogica/-more logical-most logica/

' bruusk-bruusker-meest bruusk

solide-solider-meest solide

brusque-more brusque-most
brusque
solid-more solid-most solid
71

The use of comparative and superlative adjectives is almost the

same as in English. Don't forget that they're still adjectives, which
means that they'll take the -e agreemen t ending, but only before
nouns.
Amsterda m is de belangrij kste stad van Nederlan d.
Amsterda m is the most important city in the Netherlands.
Ik houd van de kleinere collegezaal.
J like the smaller lecture hall.

Ik vind dat het mooist.

1find that the most beautiful.

The equivalent of than in Dutch is dan. Notice that where English

speakers (sometimes) use object pronouns like him or me after
than, in Dutch you always use a subject pronoun. Also notice that in
English you use the comparative when you're only speaking about
two people or things (she's the taller of the two), but in Dutch you
use the superlative.
Zij is groter dan hij.
She is taller than him/than he (is).
Zij is de grootste van de twee.
She is the taller of the two.
Gramma r point 3: Modal verbs

A modal verb is a grammatica! term for a verb that expresses modality, in other words a speaker's view about things like necessity,
willingness, ability, and so on. In English, modal verbs are can,
must, have to, want to, and so on. You use them along with another
verb, as in I can speak, or I must speak, or 1 want to speak. Dutch is
similar. You can use a modal verb along with another verb in the
infinitive, but there are word order issues that come into play. Before we getto them, let's look at the farms of the modal verbs. We'll
start with moeten (must, to have to), which is regular. Rememb er
that since the stem ends in -t, there's no need to add -tin the jij or
hij/z~j/het forms.
ik moet

wij/we moeten

jij/je, u moet

jullie moeten

hij, zij/ze, het/'t moet

zij/ze moeten

The modal willen (to want to) is irregular, because the hij/zijjhe t
forms don't include -t.
72

ik Wil

wij/we willen

jij/je, u wilt

jullie willen

hij, zij/ze, het/'t wil

zij/ze willen

vou

may hear the form je wil (one wants, you [generic] want) in informal conversation.

The modals zullen (will, shall) and kunnen (can, to be able) are irregular in a similar way. The stem vowel changes from u to a in the
ik and hij/zij/het forms, and the -t is also missing in the hij/zij/het
forms.
ik zal, kan

wij/we zullen, kunnen

jij/je, u zult, kunt

jullie zullen, kunnen

hij, zij/ze, het/'t zal, kan

zij/ze zullen, kunnen

Again, you may hear the forms je zal (one will, you fgenericj wil!)
and je kan (one can, people {genericj can) in informal conversation.

The modal mogen (may) is irregular because its stem vowel changes
from o toa in all of the singular forms, and -t is missing in all of the
singular forms as well.
ik mag

wij/we mogen

jij/je, u mag

jullie mogen

hij, zij/ze, het/'t mag

zij/ze mogen

Naw that we've looked at the forms of the modal verbs, let's focus

on how to use them. Just as in English, you use these Dutch modals
along with a main verb. In Dutch, the modal will be conjugated as
above, and the 111ain verb will be in its infinitive (-en/-n) form. Take
a look at the following pairs.
-

- - - --- --

..,,.ek/ik wil spreken .

I speakll want to speak

-~akt/zij moet mf~~en . ---~~-~-~:ak~s/she has to make

But there's one very important point to keep in mind about word
order with modals. If you use a modal, it "sends" the main verb to
the end of the sentence. So if you have a direct object, a location
phrase, or an adverb, t hcy11 all come between the modal and the
main verb. The word order will be:
73

modal
(conjugated)

direct object,
location
phrase,
adverb, etc.

main verb
(infinitive)

Let's see how this works with some examples.

Ik wil Nederlands spreken.
I want to speak Dutch.
Zij moet nu huiswerk maken.
She has to do homework now.
Marijke wil de hele dag aardrijkskunde leren.
Marijke wants to study geography the entire day.
Marijke kan dat na het examen doen.
Marijke can do that after the exam.
Maar ze moet goede cijfers halen.
But she has to get good grades.
Mag Marijke een pen van Daan lenen?
May Marijke borrow apen from Daan?
We kunnen het scherm niet zien!
We can't see the screen!

Also, keep in mind that willen means want and not will. In Dutch,
the future is usually expressed with the present tense and some
kind of .adverb or other time reference to indicate the future. But
you can use zullen (will, shall) if you want to give emphasis or indicate some kind of promise or strong conviction.
Ik maak mijn huiswerk later.
J'll do my homework later.
Ik zal mijn huiswerk later maken!
I (absolutely) will do my homework later!

Grammar point 4: Negation with niet and geen

You':e already seen several examples of negation with niet (not) . In

Enghsh, not usually comes right before the (auxiliary) verb, but in
Dutch it can come in a few places. If the whole sentence is negated
niet usually comes at the very end.
'
De leerlingen maken hun huiswerk niet.
The students don't do their homework.
74

Ik weet het antwoord niet.

1 don't know the answer.

In simple sentences with zijn and an adjective, niet usually comes

right before the adjective.
Het examen is niet gemakkelijk.
The exam is not easy.
De overhoringen zijn niet heel moeilijk.
The oral tests aren't very difficult.
Niet can also come right before any element that is specifically negated, for example an adverb or a prepositional phrase.
Jullie leren niet graag scheikunde.
You don't like to leam chemistry.
De potloden passen niet in het etui.
The pencils don't fit in the case. (Maybe in another one.)
We gaan niet met de trein naar school.
We don't go to school by train. (Maybe by bus or car.)
As you learned in Lesson 2, there's also another negative in Dutch,
geen (no, not any, none). Geen is only used right before nouns, hut
the noun has to be either categorical or indefinite. A categorical
noun is one that refers to a whole category, like vlees (meat) or
leerlingen (students) in the examples below. Niet is not possible in
either of the following examples.
Zij eet geen vlees.
She doesn't eat (any) meat.
Er zijn geen leerlingen.
There aren't any students.
With an indefinite noun phrase, in other words one with een instead
of de, it's possible to use either geen or niet, but geen is preferred.
Dit is geen goede oplossing.
This isn't a good solution.fThere is no good solution.
Dit is niet een goede oplossing.
This is not a good solution.
With a definite noun phrase with de or a possesive, though, geen is
not possible, so niet is the only option for negation.
Dat is niet de eerste keer.
That's not the first time.
Dat is niet onze leraar.
That's not our te~r.

75

56. READING
Read the following short composition written by Martijn, a student
at a gymnasium. See how much you can understand, and whether
you can get the gist of the parts that are new to you from context.
Ik vind de school heel leuk. Vooral de vakken Latijn en wiskunde
zijn boeiend. Ik moet ook biologie, scheikunde en natuurkunde
in mijn vakkenpakket kiezen, want ik wil arts worden. Mijn leraar zegt: "Je zult op de universiteit gemakkelijker kunnen studeren, als je nu die vakken kiest." Mijn vader is ook arts. Hij werkt
in het ziekenhuis als chirurg. Ik wil net zo goed worden als hij.
Daarom ga ik hard studeren en altijd mijn huiswerk maken. Ik
wil voor ieder proefwerk een goed cijfer halen. Ik hoef nu nog
geen eindexamen te doen. Dat komt pas over drie jaar, maar de
voorbereiding is al begonnen.
I like school very much. Especially the subjects Latin and math are
fascinating. I have to choose biology, chemistry, and physics in my
set of options too, because I want to be a doctor. My teacher says,
"You'll be able to study much easier at the university, if you choose
these subjects naw." My father is a doctor too. He works at the hospital as a surgeon. I want to become just as good as he is. So J'll study
hard and always do my homework. I want to get a good grade on
every test. I don't need to take the final exams yet. That won't come
for another three years, but it's already time to start preparing. (fit.,
the preparation has begun afready.)

5H. CULTURE NOTE

We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created

equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent Jrom the
governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new Government. [ ... ] A Prince whose character
is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be
the ruler of a free people. Of course you recognize these words, written by Thomas Jefferson, from the Declaration of Independence.
But did you know that in the year i581 the Congress in the Netherhmds wrote: It is common knowledge that a sovereign of a country
76

has been appointed by God as a head of his subjects to protect them

and to save them against all injustice, harm and violence. ! . .. ] IJ
he doesn't do sa, but instead of protecting his subjects tries to oppress them, [ .. 1 he must not be considered as a sovereign but as a
tyrant. His subjects are free to abandon him and to choose another
sovereign. This text is the beginning of the Plakkaat van Verlatinge (Oath of Abjuration), which was the document by which the
Dutch expressed the desire to be freed from the foreign-based rule
of the Spanish king Philip II. The Founding Fathers of the US were
inspired by this Dutch Oath, which served as a model for the Declaration of Independence.

The tradition behind the Dutch declaration goes back at least as far
as 1356, when the Duchess of Brabant married Wenceslas van Luxemburg. Before th.is new duke was allowed to reign, he had to acknowledge adherence to a document that clearly expressed that his
new subjects had the right to resist him if he, as their duke, violated
their rights. This document was well known to the Dutch Congress,
and future miers were bound by it, including Philip Il, at least from
the Dutch point of view. Philip didn't quite see things the same
way, and this ultimately led to occupation and continued loyalty to
Spain for what would become Belgium, and independence for what
would become the Netherlands. Not to mention a nice precedent
fora far-away land that would become the United States.
You cah read more about the Oath of Abjuration and Philip II at:
en.wikipediaorg/wiki/Oath _of_ Abjuration, or en.wikipedia.orglwiki/
Philip _II_ of_Spain.

EXERCISES
A. Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.

ik, kun, tekenen, geen, niet, uit, school, liever,

moeilijker, vak
Mien: Zeg Kees, wat vind je het leukste vak op
1
?
Kees: Ik mag graag 2 _ _ _, Mien.
Mien: Dat vind ik ook leuk, maar nog 3___ doe
ik wiskunde.
Kees: Is dat niet het moeilijkste 4 ___op school?
77

dan Duits.

Mien:

Nee hoor. Het is nil't :'

Kees:

Die twee vakken 6 ___ __.__ _ je nil't gol'd

vergelijken.

Mien: Dat hoef ik ook niet tt' dotn : ik ht'b 7 __ __

Duits.

B. Complete each sentence with niet or geen, and translate into

English.
de vader?

i.

Wie is

2.

Er zijn _ _ _ leraren in de school.

3. We hoeven vandaag _ _ _ huiswerk te maken.

4. Zij weten _ _ _ betere school in Nederland.

5. Is dit _ _ _ de bus naar Utrecht?

6. Er is _ _ _ n leerling gezakt voor het examen.
7. Ik ben _ _ _ in Amsterdam.

C. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.

1.

Martin is a better teacher than me.

2.

There are few people in the big station.

3. Who wants to learn the history of the oldest Dutch people?

4. The little girl has to study a bit harder.

5. 1 Jike history and geography.

6. We have to read the hooks, and they have to do their homework .

7. She likes learning languages.

8. I find physics harder than chemistry.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Check out these websites, for different types of schools in the
Netherlands: www.digischool.nl, www.vrijeschooldenhaag.nl.
or www.barlaeus.nl. Choose one of the sites, and explore it. Try
to understand as much as you can, using a dictionary or online
78

reference if you need to. See if you can write a few simple
sentences about the school you've chosen in your Language
Joumal, perhaps comparing it to a school that you're familiar
with. Challenge yourself to try to express as much as you can,
and don't worry if your Dutch isn't qui te perfect. The point is
to explore, and see how far you can push the Dutch that you
know already !

AISWER KEY
A.1. school;

2.

tekenen; 3. liever; 4. vak; 5. moeilijker ; 6. kun ; 7. geen

B.i. niet, Who isn't the father? 2 . geen, There are no/aren't any teachers in the school. 3. geen, We don 't have to do any homework today. 4. geen, They don't know any better school in the Netherlands.
5. niet, Isn't this the bus to Utrecht ? 6. niet, Not one/not a single
student failed the exam. 7. niet, I'm not in Amsterdam.
Martin is een betere leraar dan ik. 2. Er zijn weinig mensen in het
grote station. 3. Wie wil de geschiedenis van de oudste Nederlanders
leren? 4. Het kleine meisje moet een beetje harder leren. 5. Ik vind
geschiedenis en aardrijkskunde leuk.fik houd van geschiedenis en
aardrijkskunde. 6. Wij moeten de boeken lezen, en zij moeten hun
huiswerk maken. 7. Ze/zij leert graag talen. 8. Ik vind natuurkunde
moeilijker dan scheikunde.

C.1.

79

80

Weer op weg
On the rood again

In Lesson 6 you'll learn how to find your way around a city. That
means asking for and getting directions, which involve a few important points that we'll look at closely. First, of course, you'll need to
know questions and question words. You'll also need to understand
some prepositions, those little words like to and from. Believe it or
not, these little words can give language learners a lot of trouble,
because their use tends to differ a lot from language to language.
And finally, you'll need to understand commands. First, let's begin
with a vocabulary warm-up.

6A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

wie?

who?

wat?

what?

welk/welke?

which?

waar?

where?

wanneer?

when?

hoe?

how?

hoeveel?

how much, how many?

waarom?

why?

waarmee?

with what?

met wie?

with whom?

68. DIALOGUE

Mieke is visiting Utrecht for the first time. She wants to take a baat
tour of the canals, hut she can't find the boats. Listen in as she asks
Thomas for directions.

81

Thomas: Kijk uit! Je staat op het fietspad!

Mieke: Sorry! Volgens mij ben ik verdwaald.
Thomas: Waar moet je naartoe?
Mieke: Ik wil naar de Oude Gracht, naar de
rondvaartboot.
Thomas: Dat is hier de straat uit, dan rechts afslaan
en daarna de tweede straat links, de brug
over, en dan die smalle steeg tussen de
schoenwinkels in. Aan het einde is de Oude
Gracht. De rondvaartboten vertrekken van
tegenover het postkantoor. Je moet naar
beneden, naar de werf bij het water.
Mieke: Dat zal ik doen, bedankt. Maar ik wil je
nog wat anders vragen: Waar kan ik een
plattegrond kopen?
Thomas: Zie je die kerk? Ga rechtdoor langs de
bank en voorbij de stoplichten. Steek
de voorrangsweg over. Dan sta je voor
een boekwinkel. Daar verkopen ze ook
plattegronden.
Mieke: Kan ik daarvandaan gemakkelijk bij het
station komen?
Thomas: Ja, neem de tram. Achter de boekwinkel zie
je een halte naast het stadhuis. Neem de
tram naar het stadion. De andere tram gaat
de verkeerde kant op. Het is twee zones naar
het station.
Mieke: Hartelijk dank!
Thomas: Niets te danken. Kijk voortaan wel uit waar
je loopt!

Thomas: Look out! You're standing in the bike path!

Mieke: Sorry! I think J'm lost.
Thomas: Where do you need to go?
Mieke: I want to go to the Old Canal, to the tour baat.
Thomas: Go to the end of the street, then turn right, and
after that take the second street on the left,
across the bridge, and then into that narrow
alley between the shoe stores. At the end is the
82

Old Cmwl. The tour hollts leun /rom tlcross

the post office. ){Ju lwve to qo down. to
the lower </WIV on the w11ter.
.

Jrom

Wieke: f1/ do thut. thank.'\. Rut f WWI( to usk VOi/

sonwthing else. i\'here cw11hm11 streef nwp!'
Thomas: Do you see that church!' Go strui11ht uhcwi.
along the side of the honk mul p;1st the tmf /ic
lights. The11you11 cross tht' thorouqh/art' wui
youll he standi11g in front of 11 hooC.;,turc. The\'
sell streef maps there. too.
Mieke:
Thomas:

Mieke:

Can l getto the statio11 e11sil\ /rom there:'

)es, take the stret:'tcar. Hehind the hookstore
youll SPI:' a stop 11e\t to cif\' h11/I. fokt' the
streetcar to the stwiiwn. The othcr strtct,nr
goes the wronq wnv. lts two ~oncs to the
station.
Thank

)'011

wrv rnuch .'

Thomas: No prohlem. Look out whcre vou rt' wulk in</

from TIOW OTI '

6C. VOCABULARY
aan

at, on

achter

behind

afslaan

to make a turn: to turn off

ander

other

bank (de; banken)

bank, soja

bij

near

boekwinkel (de; -winkels)

bookstore

brug (de; bruggen)

bridge

daarvandaan

from there

door

through, by

fietspad (het; -paden)

bike path

gebouw (het; gebouwen)

building

gracht(de;grachten)

canal

halte (de; haltes)

stop (bus/streetcar)
83

i Il

kant (df; kalll1'11)

84

i f/,

/(//()

iflff'I /tof/, WUV,

\idf'

kantoor (het; ka11ton11)

u//u ,,

kerk (de; knkfn)

1l11mh

kopen

to lmy

links

"'f 1

linksaf

l<'/1 turn, to the le/t

met

with

na

aft er

naar

to

naast

next to

om

arourul, at (a time}, /or (u

onder

wzder, mnong

op

on, in

over

over, above, across, uhuut

oversteken

to cross (over)

plattegrond (de; -gronden)

street map

postkantoor (het; -kantoren)

post office

rechtdoor

straight ahead

rechts

right

rechtsaf

right turn, to the right

rondvaartboot (de; -boten)

tour baat

smal

narrow

stadion (het; stadions)

stadium

steeg (de; stegen)

alley

stoplicht (het; -lichten)

traffic light

straat (de; straten)

street

te

to (before a verb)

tegen

against

tegenover

across (trom)

tijdens

during

n'11\un1

to, as far as, until

tot
tra.ID

(de; trams)

streetcar

nissen

between, among

uit

out,from

uitkijken

to look out

van

offrom

verdwalen

to get lost

verkeerd

wrong

verkopen

to sell

vertrekken

to leave

volgens

according to

voor

infront of beforeJor

voorbij

beyond, past

voorrangsweg (de; -wegen)

major raad, thoroughfare

voortaan

from naw on

wat nders

something else

werf (de; werven)

(lower) quay. area alongside a

canal used for loading and storage

winkel (de; winkels)

shop, store

zeggen

to say

6D. KEY PHIASES

Here are some key phrases that will help you get around town.

Hoe kom ik bij het station?

How do I get to the train station?

Hoe ver is het vanaf het

How far is it from the airport?

vliegveld?
Ik moet naar hotel Terminus.

I need to go to the Hotel Tenninus.

Waar is de bushalte?

Where is the bus stop?

Waar kan ik een taxi vinden?

Where can I find a taxi?

Hoeveel is de ritprijs?

How much is the Jare?

Is er in de buurt een goed

restaurant?

Is there a good restaurant in the

neighborhood?
85

Js there a pharmac y near the hotel?

Is er een apothee k vlakbij het

hotel?
Waar gaat deze trein naartoe?

Where is this train going?

Zijn deze plaatsen vrij?

Are these seats free?

Mag ik uw plaatsbe wijs zien?

May 1 see your ticket?

Dit kaartje is niet meer geldig.

This ticket isn 't va/id anymore.

U zit in de verkeerd e trein.

You're on the wrong train.

Hoe ver is het nog?

How far is it from here?

Moet ik hier overstap pen?

Do I have to change here?

Waar moet ik uitstapp en?

Where do l have to get off?

Goede reis!

Have a good trip!

&E. CULTURE NOTE

The Netherlands is no stranger to traffic and congestion. Most city

centers were built in the Middle Ages, so many streets are too narrow for cars, and parking can be a challenge, too. Thankfully, distances are usually not very great, and hills and mounta ins are not
exactly commonplace, so a lot of people opt to go to work op de
fiets (by bike). Cyclists have their own fietspad en (bike paths or
tracks), stoplich ten (traffic lights) and fietsens tallinge n (bicycle
sheds). In Amsterdam there was a city bike program once, called
the Wittefie tsenplan (white bike plan), which allowed people to
borrow bikes. Nowadays you have to rent a bike, hut similar lending programs have been planned for other cities. In cities a bike can
get around as fast as a car, and bromfie tsen or bromm ers (mopeds)
are even faster. Public transportation is making a comeback, so
people have plenty of other options, too. Treinen (trains), metro's
(subways), trams (streetcars) and bussen (buses) are more frequent
than in the past. People use a strippen kaart ("strip" card) to pay for
bu~ses and streetcars. A certain number of strips on the card
are
sttUnped, dependi ng on the number of zones a commu ter passes
through . (The total number is the number of zones plus one.) But
in the near future a kind of credit card will be used instead. But of
course, people everywhere sometimes prefer to simply drive their
,own cars to work. And every morning this means the same thing:

file (a traffic jam)!

86

for more information on transportation in Amsterdam, check out:

www.gvb.nl/english/
www.amsterdam.info/transport/

6F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point

1: Word order

Now that you have a decent amount of Dutch grammar under your
belt, and you've seen and learned how to produce a good range of
sentences, let's take a moment to talk about word order in Dutch.
Even though Dutch and English are close collsins linguistically
speaking, this is one area where the languages can really part ways.
The most important point to keep in mind is that in simple declarative sentences, the position of main verbs is pretty much fixed; it
comes second. That usually looks just like English, if the first word
(or phrase) in a sentence is the subject. Take a look at these examples, where phrases are separated by vertical lines.
Ik 1ga 1met de trein 1naar Groningen.
J'm going to Groningen by train.
Mieke en Thomas 1 spreken 1 geen Engels.
Mieke and Thomas don't speak English.

If a sentence starts with something other than a subject, for example with an adverb or some word that is emphasized, then the verb
still holds on to its second position, and the subject comes after it.
The only time you see something like this in English is in constructions like Never have I seen such a thing before! But it's completely
common, and in fact required, in Dutch.
Misschien 1gaat 1hij 1vanavond 1 zwemmen.
Maybe he'll go swimming tonight.
Maandagmorgen vroeg 1 stapt 1 zij 1 om zes uur 1 op haar fiets.
Early Monday morning she gets on her bike at six o'clock.
Dat 1 doe 1 ik 1 nooit!
I never do THAT!
In Lesson 5, you learned that modal verbs like willen (want) and
moet.en {must) send the main verb to the end of the clause.
Ik 1 wil 1 met de trein 1 naar Groningen 1 gaan.
I want to go to Groningen by train.
87

We 1moeten 1morgen 1werken.

We have to work tomorrow.

As you can see, it's possible for other elements of main clauses to
shift around in Dutch, hut the (conjugated) verb always wants to
be in the second position. In fact, depending on what you want
to stress, you can say pretty much the same thing in a few different ways in Dutch, as long as the main verb doesn't move. The following sentences all mean: They still have to wait for the bus from
Utrecht for about another quarter of an hour. The first translation is
neutra!, the second one stresses the amount of time, and the third
stresses the particular bus.
Zij 1moeten 1nog ongeveer een kwartier 1op de bus uit Utrecht 1
wachten.
Nog ongeveer een kwartier 1moeten1zij1 op de bus uit Utrecht 1
wachten.
Op de bus uit Utrecht 1moeten 1zij 1nog ongeveer een kwartier 1
wachten.

We'll take a look at questions with question words in a moment,

hut as you can see, the word order is such that the (conjugated) verb
is still in the second position.
Wanneer 1 komt 1 hij 1 thuis?
When does he get home?
Wat 1 willen 1 jullie 1 eten?
What do you (pl.) want to eat?

Way back in Lesson I, you learned that yes-no questions are formed
by putting the verb first, so they're an exception to the verb-second
generalization. Imperatives (Stop that! Leave now!) and dependent
dauses (He said that he's leaving. She asked why he left.) are also exceptions. We'll deal with imperatives in this lesson, and we'll carne
back to dependent clauses later.
.Grammar point

:z:

lmperatives

Imperatives, or commands, are an exception to the verb-second

rule. But they're just like English: The verb comes first. The form
of the imperative is simple. It's just the stem of the verb, which
means that sometimes you'll have to double a vowel or use a single
consonant in spelling. The only irregular imperative is wees from

zijn (to be).

88

'

l)oe het niet!

Don't do it!

Wacht op mij!
Waitforme!

Geef een tram altijd voorrang!

Always yield Jor a streetcar !
Bel me op!

Call me.
Wees niet bang!
Don't be afraid.

It's also possible to have two verbs in a command, in which case the
main verb comes first, and then the second verb comes at the end,
in the infinitive form.
Ga eens staan!
Get up!
Laat de mensen eerst even uitstappen!
Let the people get offfirst!

The words eens (once) and even (just) mean nothing literal in these
contexts, hut they make a command more friendly.
You can also give commands by using an infinitive or a past participle. We'll comeback to the form of the participle later, but for
now just take a look at these examples.
Niet doen!
Don't do it!
Uitstappen!
Getoff!

Opgelet!
Be careful!

And finally, you can express commands with the modals moeten,
mogen, or kunnen.
Je mag dat niet doen!/Dat mag je niet doen!
You 're not allowed to do that!

Je moet dat niet doen!/Dat moet je niet doen!

You shouldn't do that!
Je kunt dat niet doen!jDat kun je niet doen!
You can 't do that!
89

Grammar point 3: Questions and question words

As you already know, yes-no questions are another exception to the

verb-second rule. The main (conjugated) verb always comes first.
Don't forget that the -t in the jij form is dropped in this order.
Bestel je een taxi?
Are you calling a taxi?
Komt de trein eraan?
Is the train coming?
Hebt u een plaatsbewijs?
Do you have a ticket?
Zijn we er allemaal?
Are we all here?
You can of course ask questions with interrogatives, or question
words. You saw a number of them in the vocabulary warm-up, so
let's see some examples now. Remember that in questions in Dutch,
you don't need to use do or does as a helping verb. Simply start with
the question word, put the verb second, and then say the rest.
Wat zeg je?
What are you saying?
Wie reist vandaag per trein?
Who's traveling by train today?
Welke mensen gaan niet fietsen?
Which people aren't going biking?
Wanneer komt hij thuis?
When is he getting home?
Waarom is het geen goede auto?
Why is it nota good car?
Van wie leen je geld?
Who do you borrow money from?
Waarmee kan ik u van dienst zijn?
What can I do for you?

Hoe vindt u de weg?

How do you find your way?

66. READING
Read the following short passage about Thomas, from our dialogue.
Can you follow everything?
90

Ik zie een jonge vrouw midden op het fietspad! Ik waarschuw

haar. Ze wil naar de rondvaartboot, zegt ze. Ze is verdwaald,
want ze heeft geen plattegrond. Ik zeg haar hoe ze moet lopen.
ze gaat rechts de hoek om en daarna de tweede straat links.
Aan het einde ligt de boot langs de werf. De plattegrond moet ze
kopen in de boekwinkel voorbij de kerk. Dan kan ze ook de
weg naar het station vinden. Ze hoeft maar op de plattegrond
te kijken. Ze kan de tram nemen, maar ze kan ook gaan lopen.
Het is niet zo ver. De vrouw bedankt me hartelijk voor mijn hulp.
Ik zeg: "Niets te danken. Kijk voortaan wel uit waar je loopt!"
J see a young woman in the middle of the bike path! I wam her. She
wants to go to the tour baat, she says. She's lost, because she has no
street map. I tel/ her how she has to go. She goes around the corner
to the right and then takes a left at the second street. At the end is
the baat alongside the lower quay. She can buy the street map in the
bookstore past the church. Then she can also find her way to the station. She just has to look at the street map. She can take a streetcar,
but she can walk, too'. lt isn't so far away. The woman thanks me for
my help. I say: "No problem. Watch out where you're walking from
nowon!"

6H. CULTURE NOTE

:z

In the year 1814, after the French occupation, the Netherlands were
reunited and the Prince of Orange-Nassau was made king. England
and Prussia had wanted a strong country on the northern border
of France, hut things didn't quite go according to plan. By i830,
the years of separation of the territories proved to be more than
a match for the wishes of the king, and Belgium became independent. Since that time, the relationship between the two nations
has varied. In the beginning, Belgium was really a French nation,
despite its historica! ties to the Netherlands. The government, the
politicians, the upper classes, the clergy, and the officers all spoke
French. The Flemings, on the other hand, spoke several Dutch dialects and couldn't understand their own leaders, who in any event
disdained them. This language harrier within a single society was
so great that in World War 1, many Flemish soldiers <lied because
they couldn't understand orders given by their commanders. But
Flemish would begin to gain ground. In 1918, for example, the University of Gent adopted the Dutch language, giving it amore official
status within Belgium. Nowadays, Dutch, or rather Vlaams (Flemish), is the language spoken in Vlaanderen (Flanders), and the Flem91

ings are partly independent. They share a federal government and l

king with the French-speaking Walloons and the Gerrnan -speakin g
people in the Oostkantons (the eastern parts of the country) , but
they have their own government bodies and politica! parties. D('. spite the division of this historica! region in to separate nations, thf'.
Dutch, Belgian, and Luxembourg governments signed an economical treaty in i960, and this has in a sense maintained the territoria!
integrity of the "Benelux." And the Dutch and Flemish governmenh
also signed a treaty regarding cooperation in matters concerning
the Dutch and Flemish language in i980, known as the Taalunie
(Language Union) . The union has even grown: In 2004 Suriname
was added as a member.

EXERCISES
A. Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogu e. You
may not need to use every word in the list.
naar, niet, kopen, ik, het, langs, geen, afslaan, de, dank
Katja: Kunt u mij de weg
zeggen, meneer?

i _

het station

Henk: Jawel. Dan moet u bij het stoplicht links

2

---

een boekwinkel
Katja: Zal ik dan ook 3
- -komen?
Henk: Nee, daar vindt u 4 _ __ boekwinkel. Er is
een boekwinkel achter het station.
Katja: 0, dat is mooi. Dan kan ik daar een boek
5 _ _.
Henk: Goed
.. , m aar u moet niet op 6 _ _ _ fietspad
blIJven staan!
Katja: U hebt gelijk. ? _ _ _ dank u!
Henk: Geen 8_.-~' en goede reis!

.
B.. Fill in each blank with the right form of the
verb g1ven, and
translate into English.
-1 . mogen: U

~en: Waar
92

hier niet staan.

wij de bus nemen?

3.geven: ___ mij de plattegrond! (imperative)

4. wachten: Ik ___ op de trein.
5. zijn: ___ dit de boot naar Amsterdam?
6. krijgen: Vandaag ___ u Engelse les.

7. willen: Wie ___ dit boek van mij lenen?

8. hebben: ___ jij ook een nieuwe fiets?
C. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
i.

Go straight ahead to the bank. There you have to cross the street.
(infml. sg.)

2.

Do they sell hooks at the station?

3. In front of the church there's a bookstore. Wait there for the bus.
4. The other streetcar goes the wrong way.

5. Maybe she wants to bike today.

6. Who are you borrowing that car from? (fml. sg.)

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Now it's time to practice what you've learned in your Dutch
journal. This time you'll plan a trip by bus, baat, and train. So
you may want to visit the website of the Dutch OV, or openbaar vervoer (public transport) at www.9292ov.nl. Plan out a
trip from Vismarkt (under straat) in Den Burg (under plaats)
to the Vrijthof in Maastricht and see if you can follow the
travel instructions. What forms of transportation would you
take? How long would the trip last? How much would it cost?
For more information on getting around in the Netherlands,
check out www.ov-chipkaart.nl, where you can get information
on the new chipkaart, or www.ov-fiets.nl, where you can learn
about renting a bike. Remember to make a note of what you
find, including new vocabulary or other useful information, in
your journal. And feel free to explore the links to businesses
and other sites that wil challenge your Dutchl

93

ANSWER KEY
A.1. naar;

2.

afslaan ; 3. langs ; + geen ; 5. kopen ; 6. h et; 7. ik ; 8. dank

B. 1. mag, You are not allowed to stand here. 2. kunnen , Where can we
take the bus? 3. geef, Give me the street map! 4. wac ht, I'm waiting
for the train. 5. is, Is this the boat to Am sterdam ? 6. krij gt, Today
you have (!it., get) an English lesson . 7. wil, Who wants to borrow
this book from me? 8. heb, Do you have a new bike too?
C. 1. Ga rechtdoor tot de bank. Daar moet je de straat oversteken.
2.Verkopen ze boeken op het station? 3. Voor de kerk is er een boekwinkel. Wacht daar op de bus. 4. De andere tram gaat de verkeerde
kant op. 5. Misschien wil zij vandaag fietsen. 6. Van wie lee nt u die
auto?

94

LESSON

Wie belt daar?

Who's calling?
This lesson focuses on talking on the telephone, which is always
a bit of a challenge for speakers of a new language. But it's essential for things like making appointments, so we'll focus on vocabulary that will come in handy for scheduling things. That of course
means that you'll learn the days of the week and how to tell time.
You'll also learn how to speak in the past tense with the verbs zijn
(to be) and hebben (to have). But first, let's begin with a vocabulary
warm-up!

7A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

de dagen van de week

the days of the week

maandag

Monday

dinsdag

Tuesday

woensdag

Wednesday

donderdag

Thursday

vrijdag

Friday

zaterdag

Saturday

zondag

Sunday

maandagsfs maandags

onMondays

dinsdags

on Tuesdays

woensdags/'s woendags

on Wednesdays

donderdags

on Thursdays

vrijdags

on Fridays

zaterdags

on Saturdays

zondags

on Sundays

95

vandaag

today

morgen

tomorrow

gisteren

yesterday

overmorge n

the day ajter tomorrow

eergisteren

the day before yesterday

78. DIALOGU E
Marie is calling a catering company to order food for a conference.
Listen in as she speaks to Marc.
Marc: Goedemiddag, cateringbe drijf De Warme
Hap, met Marc de Vries.
Marie: Goedemiddag, met Marie Huybrecht s. Ik
wil graag een afspraak maken over een
bestelling voor een congres.
Marc: Op welke dag is het congres?
Marie: Volgende week op woensdag negenentw intig
maart en donderdag dertig maart.
Marc: En wat zullen de deelnemer s dan eten?
Marie: We beginnen woensdag om tien uur met
koffie en cake. Om half n is er een kleine
lunch. Om kwart voor vijf sluiten we af
met een borrel. We dineren rond zeven uur.
Donderdag beginnen we klokslag negen uur.
Om kwart over twaalf is er een uitgebreide
lunch. We eindigen in de middag rond vier
uur met thee en koffie.
Marc: Ok, en hoeveel mensen zullen er
deelnemen ?
Marie: Er komen tweehonde rdvierenze stig mensen.
Marc: Wilt u langskome n om van tevoren te
proeven?
Marie: Ja graag. Vorig jaar mei waren er toch wat
minder lekkere broodjes bij.
Marc: Dat had niet mogen gebeuren! Welke
broodjes had u toen besteld?
96

Marie: We hadden krentenbollen en luxebroodjes

met kaas en ham.
Marc: We zullen er extra goed op letten. Wanneer
wilt u langskomen?
Marie: Aanstaande vrijdag om tien voor half drie?
Marc: Dat kan. Vrijdags ben ik er. Mag ik uw
telefoonnummer nog noteren?
Marie: Dat is nul dertig, negenenzestig,
nenzeventig, drienveertig, acht.
Marc: Dank u wel, het staat genoteerd. Ik zie u
komende vrijdag. Goedemiddag.
Marie: U ook nog een fijne middag.

Marc: Good afternoon, "De Warme Hap" catering, this

is Marc de Vries speaking.
Marie: Good afternoon, this is Marie Huybrechts. J'd
like to make an appointment about a delivery
for a conference.
Marc: Which day is the conference?
Marie: Next week on Wednesday, March 29t1', and
Thursday, March 3d".
Marc: And what wil! the attendees eat?
Marie: We'll start on Wednesday at ten o'clock with
coffee and cake. At half past twelve there will
be a small lunch. At a quarter to five we'll finish
off with drinks. We'll have dinner at around
seven o'clock. On Thursday we'll start right
at nine o'clock (lit., at the stroke of nine). At a
quarter past twelve there will be a full lunch.
We'll end in the afternoon around Jour o'clock
with tea and coffee.
Marc: Okay, and how many people will participate?
Marie: There are two hundred sixtyjour people
coming.
Marc: Would you like to come over Jor a tasting in
advance?
Marie: Yes, please. Last year in May there were some
not-sa-delicious rolls.
97

Marc: That shouldn't have happened! Which rails rlid

you order then?
Marie: We had currant buns and rails with cheese ond
ham.
Marc : We 'll be extra careful about that. When would
you like to come over?
Marie: Next Friday, at twenty past two?
Marc : That works. J'm here on Fridays. Can 1 take
down your telephone number?
Marie: Jt's zero thirty, sixty-nine, seventy-o ne,fortythree, eight.
Marc: Thank you very much. Jt 's noted. J'll see you
next Friday. Goodbye.
Marie: Have a nice day.

7C. VOCABULARY

98

aanstaande

next

afsluiten

to close, to finish up

afspraak (de; afspraken)

appointm ent

bestellen

to order, to deliver

bestelling (de; bestellingen)

order, delivery

borrel (de; borrels)

drink(s)

broodje (de; broodjes)

roll

cake(de; cakes)

cake

cateringbedrijf (het; -bedrijven)

catering company

congres (het; congressen)

conferenc e

deelneme n

to participat e, to attend

deelnemer (de; deelnemers)

participa nt, attendee

eindigen

to end

extra

special, extra

gebeuren

to happen

graag willen

to like to

bam (de; hammen)

ham

hoeveel?

how mueh ?, how many !'

jaar (het; jaren)

year

kaas (de; kazen)

eheese

klokslag negen uur

right at nine o 'doek

komende vrijdag

next Frida y

krentenbol (de; -bollen)

eurmnt bun

langskomen

to eome over

lekker

tasty, delicious

luxebroodje (het; -broodjes)

roll, bun

maand (de; maanden)

month

noteren

to note, to write down

opletten

to pay attention

proeven

to taste

rond vier uur

around jour o 'doek

telefoonnummer (het;
-nummers)

telephone number

uitgebreid

sumptuous

van tevoren

in advanee

volgende week

next week

vorig jaar

last year

week (de; weken)

week

Let's also add the months of the year.

januari

juli

februari

augustus

maart

september

april

oktober

mei

november

juni

december

99

7D. KEY PHRASES

Here are some phrases that will come in handy when using the
telephone.

100

Is er dichtbij een telefooncel?

Is there a public plume nenrby ?

Kan ik je mobieltje lenen?

May J borrow your cel! phone?

Kan ik met Piet spreken?

Mny J speak with Piet?

Kunt u me verbinden met

nummer 214?

214,

Can you connect me to extension

plense?

Ik moet mijn voicemail

checken.

J need to check my voicemail.

Daar spreekt u mee.

This is he/she. Speaking.

Een ogenblikje geduld,

alstublieft.

Just n moment, please.

Blijft u even aan de lijn, a.u.b.!

Please hold!

Kan ik een boodschap

achterlaten?

Can 1 leave a messa ge?

Kunt u me verbinden met zijn/

haar voicemail?

Can you con11ect me to his/ her

voicemail?

Ik zet u even in de wacht.

J'm going to put you on holdfor n

moment.

Dit telefoongesp rek kost u

vijftig cent per minuut.

This phone call wil! cost you fifty

cents per minute.

Ik heb hem eergisteren nog

aan de lijn gehad.

I had him on the phone the day

before yesterday.

Ik heb je moeder aan de lijn!

Your mot her is on the phone !

Overmorgen kan ik leveren.

I can deliver the day ajter

tomorrow.

Kunt u dat voor me spellen?

Can you spel! it for me?

Tot horens!

Talk to you soon! J'll be hearing

from you!

Pardon, dan heb ik een

verkeerd nummer gedraaid.

J'm sorry, J've got the wrong

number.

7E. CULTURE NOTE

If you call people in the Netherlands or in Flanders, you'll notice

that most people simply say their name when answering the phone.
The equivalent of the greeting heila? isn't used. Since it's often hard
for learners of a language to understand things on the phone, when
all of the visual cues are missing, you might need these expressions: Sorry, dat heb ik niet verstaan. (J'm sorry; J didn't catch
that.), Kunt u dat herhalen? (Can you repeat that?), Wilt u wat
langzamer spreken? (Can you speak more slowly ?) And if someone
asks you to spell your name, it will be useful for you to know the
words that are used in the Netherlands and in Flanders to mean different letters. The following is amore local variation on the NATO
alphabet alpha bravo Charlie ... , which many Dutch and Flemish people know from their time in the armies. The Dutch version
(Anna) is given first, followed by the Flemish version (Arthur) after
the slash.
A Anna/Arthur
B Bernard/Brussel

Johan/Jozef
K Karel/kilogram

Simon/Sofie
T Theodoor/telefoon

Utrecht/Ursula

M Marie/Maria

Victor

Eduard/Emiel

N Nico/Napoleon

W Willem/Waterloo

Ferdinand/Frederik

Cornelis/Carolina

D Dirk/Dsir

Lodewijk/Leopold

Otto/Oscar

Xantippe/Xavier

G Gerard/Gustaaf

p Pieter/piano

IJ IJsbrand

H Hendrik/Hendrik

Q quotint/quotint

ypsilon/Yvonne

R Rudolf/Robert

Zaandam/zero

lzak/lsidoor

7F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point 1: Simple past of zijn and hebben

The verbs zijn and hebben are as important and irregular as the
English to be and to have. Here are the simple past conjugations of
both verbs.
ik was

I was

jij/je was

you were

u was

you were

hij, zij/ze, het/'t was

he, she, it was

101

wij/we waren

we were

jullie waren

you were

zij/ze waren

they were

ik had

/had

jij/je had

you had

u had

you had

hij, zij/ze, het/'t had

he, she, it had

wij/we hadden

we had

jullie hadden

you had

zij/ze hadden

they had

We waren gisteren in Amsterdam.

We were in Amsterdam yesterday.
Hij was niet thuis, maar zijn vrouw en zijn dochters waren dat wel.
He wasn't home, hut his wife and his daughters were (Zit., were that
indeed).
Ze hadden een heel groot huis op Schiermonnikoog.
They had a very big house on Schiermonnikoog.
Had je een hond of een kat?
Did you have a dog or a cat?

Grammar point

:z:

Numbers above :zo and dates

In Lesson 3 you learned the numbers n through tien, and then in

Lesson 4 you learned elf through twintig. Let's continue counting.
As you can see below, a lot of Dutch numbers are very similar to
English numbers. These shouldn't give you any trouble; the only
major difference is that numbers like tweehonderd (two hundred)
are spelled together as one word.
tien

ten

twintig

twenty

: dertig
1

thirty

veertig

forty

1 vijftig

1---- ,,_ ' -

ftfty
~ --

~~~---102

sixty

!zeventig

seventy

tachtig

eighty

negentig

ninety

honderd (de; honderden)

hundred

tweehonderd

two hundred

driehonderd

three hundred

negenhonderd

nine hundred

.,

negenhonderddertien
duizend (de; duizenden)

nine hundred and thirteen

thousand

Notice that honderd and duizend are both de-words, and that they
have plurals, as in hundreds and thousands. Miljoen, miljard en
biljoen are all het-words, on the other hand. Notice that in spelling,
there's a space in between, for example, thousands and hundreds.
Also notice that Dutch biljoen does not correspond to English bil/ion. Instead, miljard is billion, and biljoen is trillion.
drieduizend zeshondertwaalf

three thousand six hundred and

twelve

miljoen (het; miljoenen)

mil/ion

miljard (het; miljarden)

billion

biljoen (het; biljoenen)

tril/ion

When you add ones to tens in Dutch, the word order is different.
Instead of twenty-one the Dutch say one-and-twenty, just as in German if you're familiar with that language.

twenty-one
twenty-two
twenty-three
vierentwintig

twenty-four

vijfentwintig

twenty-five

zesentwintig

twenty-six

zevenentwintig

twenty-seven

*The two dots on the-- are called a trema (dieresis). In Dutch wrlting it's the signal
that a new syll.aele btglns. So there are four syllables: twee-en-twln-tlg.

103

achtentwintig

twenty-eight

negenentwintig

twenty-nine

vierenveertig

forty-four

zevenentachtig

eighty-seven

One important thing to keep in mind about written numbers is that

Dutch, like many European languages, uses periods where English uses
commas, and commas where English uses periods. So: tienduizend is
10.000 (with a period) and vier en een half is 4,5 (with a comma).
Ordinal numbers are: eerste (first), tweede (second), derde (third),
vierde (fourth), vijfde (fifth), zesde (sixth), zevende (seventh),
achtste (eighth), negende (ninth), tiende (tenth), elfde (eleventh) ,
twaalfde (twelfth). Notice that most take the ending -de, except
eerste and achtste. The remaining ordinals in the teens all take
the ending-de: dertiende, veertiende, vijftiende, zestiende, zeventiende, achttiende, negentiende. The higher ordinals all end in
-ste: twintigste, tweentwintigste, honderdste, driehonderdste,
duizendste, vijfmiljoenste 1 and so on.
When giving dates in Dutch, say the day first , and then the month, anJ
finally the year. Ordinal numbers are not used in dates in Dutch, hut
rather the cardinal numbers, right before the name of the month.
n april

the first of April, April first

July

rfh

12-1-2009

Grammar point 3: Telling time

To ask what time it is, say hoe laat is het? (!it., how late is it?). If
the answer is a whole hour, it's simply the number plus the word
~ur (hour). T~ spe~ify ':hich pa~t of the day, you c~n use 's morgens
(m the mornzng), s middags (m the afternoon), s avonds (in the
e;e~ing), or 's nachts (at night). Notice that in writing, n (one) is
d1stmguished from een (a, an).
3:00

am

drie uur 's nachts

11:00

am

elf uur 's morgens

1:00 pm

n uur 's middags

negen uur 's avonds

104

Minutes past the hour are introduced by over, and minutes before
the hour by voor. A quarter of an hour is kwart.
vijf over drie 's middags
kwart over elf 's morgens
kwart voor vijf 's middags
tien over zes 's avonds

11:55 pm

vijf voor twaalf 's avonds

If it's half past an hour, this is expressed in Dutch as half followed

by the next hour.
half twee 's middags
half acht 's avonds

And the half hour is used as the point of reference for times from
about a quarter after the hour to a quarter to the (next) hour. So,
2:25 is expressed as five minutes before half three.
1

12:i5 pm

vijf voor half drie 's middags

7:20 pm

tien voor half acht 's avonds

8:40 pm

tien over half negen 's avonds

vijf over half twee 's nachts

To ask what time something happens, use the expression hoe laat?
The answer will include om (at). To give an imprecise time, use
rond (about, lit., around) and to indicate that it's towards a certain
time, use tegen (lit. against).

Hoe laat begint de film?

What time does the film begin?
Hoe laat komt de trein uit Utrecht aan?
What time does the train from Utrecht arrive?
De trein komt om kwart over elf 's morgens aan.
The train arrives at 11: 15 in the morning.
De film begint rond acht uur.
The film begins at about 8:00.
Het liep tegen middernacht.
It was toward midnight. (fit., lt was running ...)
105

Finally, in official schedules, you'll se(' the 2-4 -hour clock usf'd , s< i
7:10 in the evening will he listed as 19 : 10.

76. READING

Read the following short passage, by Marc de Vries from

dialogue.

our

Vorige week had ik een telefoongesprek met Marie Huybrechts.

Ze wilde een afspraak maken over een bestelling voor een congres. Dat congres is morgen op negenentwintig juni en overmorgen op dertig juni. Er komen driehonderdnenzeventig
deelnemers. Ze willen woensdag eerst koffie. Om half twee is
er een lunch en om kwart voor vijf een borrel. Het diner is rond
zeven uur. Donderdag begint het congres om klokslag half tien.
Om tien voor half n lunchen ze. 's Middags om vier uur is het
afgelopen. De vorige keer waren de broodjes niet zo lekker. Dat
mag niet nog eens gebeuren!
Last week I had a telephone call with Mnri e Huyhrechts. she wrmted
to make an appointment ahout o deliveryfor a conference. Thnl co n
ference is tomorrow, on fune twentyninth , and the duy after tomorrow, on fune thirtieth. Three hundrerl (JfUf seventy-one uttendees wil/
carne. On Wednesday, they wont coffee first. A t huif past one th ere
will be a lunch, and at a quarter to five there wil/ he drinks (fit " a
drink). The dinner will be at seven o "clock. On Thursday the conference wil/ start at (fit., the stroke of} haljpost nine. At twenty rninutes
past twelve they will have lunch. At four o'clock in the afterrwon it
will finish up. The last time the buns weren 'tso tasty. Thclt shouldn t
happen again !

JH. CULTURE NOTE

Orange is the color of the Dutch. When a Dutch sports tea111 01

individual Dutch athletes are playing somewhere, you'll sec rnany
Dutch supporters with the color orange on flags, hats, jackcts. shirts .
pants, umbrellas, balloons, and so on. This is because orange is <iiso
the. color of the Dutch royal family, the House of Oranje Nasscttt .
~h1ch d~tes back to Willem van Oranje, who died in is8 4 . Arnong
bis holdmgs was the French Principality Orange, in southcrn
. France on the river Rhone. Through history the co lor orange bas
106

been used by people to support the federation or country, or the

prince or king. Things haven't changed. If you want to see a lot of
Dutch orange, the two best places are either a sports game, or a parade on Koninginnedag (Queen's Day). This national holiday was
originally held on August 3 1 '\ in honor of Queen Wilhelmina, and
then later it was moved to April in honor of Queen Juliana. Now it
is on April 3d'\ in honor of Queen Beatrix. In the future there will
be a Koningsdag (King's Day), in honor of King Willem-Alexander.
Although the date isn't certain, there will probably still be a lot of
orange! For more information, check out these sites:
www.knvb.nl

The official site of the Royal

Netherlands Soccer Association,
KNVB (Koninklijke Nederlandse
Voetbalbond).

www.koninklijkhuis.nl

The Dutch royal family's site, with

information on Koninginnedag
(Queen's Day).

EXERCISES
A. Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.
dan, op, meer, het, gisteren, hadden, waren, dank, thee
Marc: Had u gisteren driehonderd broodjes met kaas
voor I _ _ _ congres?
Marie: Nee, ik had 2 _ _ _ vierhonderd broodjes
met ham. Eergisteren waren er driehonderd
broodjes met kaas.
Marc: Was de koffie dan 3___ maandag?
Marie: Ja, toen 4 _ _ _ de mensen van de bank hier.
Die dronken veel koffie.
Marc: 0 ja, maandag had u nog S_ _ _ koffie
nodig.
Marie: Ja, maar 6 _ _ _ was er genoeg.
Marc: Dronken de mensen maar meer thee 7 _ __
koffie!
Marie: Ja, dan 8 _ _ _ wij het gemakkelijker!
107

B. Write out the following numbers in Dutch.

1.

30

2. 28
3. 1 37

4. 1098

5 20.000
6. 4.000.000.000
7. 12.345

8. 33.333
C. Write out the following times in Dutch, including phrases like in

the morning, in the aftemoon.

i.

2:30 am

3. 10:45 am
4. 12:00 pm
5 5:55 pm
6. 9:15 pm

7.11:2opm
8. 12:00 am

D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch. Don't worry if

you're unsure of some of the vocabulary or some of the grammar.
Just do your best, and compare your answers to the correct answers
in the key.
i.

At the stroke of twelve we had sixty-three attendees in the churc:h.

2.

That was the seventh conference after April 181h.

3. We want to return at twenty-five past ten p.m.

4. He had a new telephone number: twenty-eight, forty-three, seventy-

one.
108

5. There were a lot of delicious currant huns on father's forty-first

birthday.

6. You have to call number sixteen, ninety-four, twenty-three right

away! (fml.)

7. Who is she making an appointment with in the bookstore on Monday?

8. The day before yesterday there were three thousand seven hundred
twenty-five children in the new stadium.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Now it's your turn to practice everything you've learned so far
by putting it in your Dutch journal. This time you'll be planning
a work day, from when you get up at 7:25 in the morning until
you go to bed at 11:55 at night. Plan your meals, working time,
coffee breaks and a visit to the theater. And please, don't forget
to pick up your children at day care at 5 :40 in the afternoon !
Write out all the times in words rather than numbers, and challenge yourself to learn new vocabulary by looking words up in
the dictionary. Writing short pieces like this one is a great way
to increase your vocabulary and also to see how much mileage
you can get out of the words you know !

AISWER KEY
A.i. het; 2. gisteren; 3. op; 4. waren; 5. meer; 6. thee; 7. dan; 8. hadden
B. L dertig; 2. achtentwintig; 3. honderdzevenendertig; 4. duizend
achtennegentig; 5. twintigduizend; 6. vier miljard; 7. twaalfduizend driehonderdvijfenveertig; 8. driendertigduizend driehonderddri endertig
C.1. half drie 's nachts; 2. n over half tien 's morgens; 3. kwart voor
elf 's morgens; 4. twaalf uur 's middags; 5. vijf voor zes 's middags;
6. kwart over negen 's avonds; 7. tien voor half twaalf 's avonds;
8. twaalf uur 's nachts

D. 1. Klokslag twaalf uur hadden wij/we drienzestig deelnemers in de

kerk. 2. Dat was het zevende congres na achttien april. 3. Wij willen om vijf voor half elf 's avonds terugkeren. 4. Hij had een nieuw
109

nvee rtig. eene nzev entig .

telef oonn umm er: acht entw intig , drie
op vade rs ne nvee rtigs te
5. Er ware n veel lekk ere kren tenb ollen
te verja arda g/op de nenverja arda g/op vade r z'n ne nvee rtigs
t onm idde llijk num mer
veer tigst e verja arda g van vader. 6. U moe
bellen~ 7. Met wie maak t ze
zestien, viere nneg entig , drie ntwi ntig
el? 8. Eerg ister en ware n
op maa ndag een afsp raak in de boek wink
ntig kind eren in het nieu we
er dried uize nd zeve nhon derd vijfe ntwi
stadi on.

110

LESSO N

Kopen en verkopen
Buying and selling

In this lesson you'll learn useful vocabulary for shopping and for
talking about clothes. You 'll also learn how to make polite requests,
and you'll be introduced toa lot of important new grammar, including words like this and that, and so-called prefixed verbs. Dutch
has a lot of verbs like this, and they can be tricky for people learning the language. But first, we'll begin as always with a vocabulary
warm-up.

BA. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

bakker (de; bakkers)

baker, baker's {shop)

drogist (de; drogisten)

drugstore

groenteboer (de; -boeren)

greengrocer, greengrocer's shop

ijzerhandel; (de; -handels)

hardware store

kapsalon (de; -salons)

hairdresser's

kledingzaak (de; -zaken)

clothing store

kruidenier (de; kruideniers)

grocer, grocery store

slager (de; sla.gers)

butcher; butcher's (shop)

speelgoedwinkel (de; -winkels)

toy store

supermarkt (de; -markten)

supermarket

verkoper (de; verkopers)

shop assistant, clerk

winkel (de; winkels)

shop, store

111

BB. DIALOGUE
Listen in as Brigitte attempts to buy a new skirt. Unfortunately,
things don't go very well for her.
Herman: Zou ik u ergens mee kunnen helpen of kijkt
u liever zelf rond?
Brigitte: Ik ben op zoek naar een rok voor bij deze
trui.
Herman: We hebben net deze enige rokken
binnengekregen! Wat vindt u van de
prachtige kleurencombinatie? Kikkergroen
is het nu helemaal! Slechts tien euro.
Brigitte: Eh ja ... Is dat een rok? Ik dacht dat dat een
riem was!
Herman: Mevrouw heeft liever een iets langere rok?
Brigitte: Ja, tot op de knie of zo. En heeft u iets dat
minder opvallend is?
Herman: Deze beeldige blouse komt uit Rome. Hij
past uitstekend bij dit colbert. En als u deze
broek eronder draagt, bent u weer helemaal
hip.
Brigitte: Dat is mooi, maar heeft u misschien ook een
rok voor mij?
Herman: Natuurlijk mevrouw. Maar zou u ook even
naar dit truitje willen kijken? Het lijkt me
echt iets voor u. En volgens mij is de maat
ook goed. Welke maat heeft u?
Brigitte: Ik heb meestal maat 42 of medium. Dit
truitje is veel te groot. Het is minstens een
50 of XXL. Dat is meer iets voor de dame
achter de kassa.
Herman: Kijkt u wel uit met wat u zegt. U moet straks
wel bij haar afrekenen.
Brigitte: Ja, maar ik heb nog niets om af te rekenen!
Ik zou graag een rok uitzoeken.
Herman: Uiteraard mevrouw. Maar u hebt onze hele
rokkencollectie reeds gezien.
Brigitte: Bedoelt u die afschuwelijke rok?
112

Herman: Ja, die rok bedoel ik. In ons andere filiaal

hebben we meer rokken. En u mag
natuurlijk altijd nog ruilen.
Brigitte: Hoe kom ik bij het andere filiaal? Is dat
de kledingzaak naast de speelgoedwin kel,
schuin tegenover het warenhuis?
Herman: Nee, die tussen de bakker en de slager, recht
tegenover de supermarkt.
Brigitte: En staat daar een kundige verkoper?
Herman: Ja. Mijn broer en zijn vrouw werken daar. U
kunt alles aan hen vragen.
Brigitte: Oh. Ik heb misschien thuis nog wel een rok
liggen ...

Herman: May I help you with something, or do you

prefer to look around yourself?
Brigitte: J'm looking fora skirt to go with this sweater.
Herman: We just got in these lovely skirts! What do you
think about the marvelous combination of
colors? Frog-green is the latest thing! Just ten
euros.
Brigitte: Eh yeah . .. Is that a skirt? I thought it was a
belt!
Herman: You prefer (Zit., ma'am prefers) a slightly Jonger
skirt?
Brigitte: Yes, down to the knee or something like that.
And do you have something that is less showy?
Herman: There's this gorgeous blouse from Rome. It goes
wonderfully with this jacket. And when you
wear these pants undemeath, you'll be really
trendy.
Brigitte: That's nice, but incidentally, do you have a skirt
forme?
Herman: Of course ma'am. But would you also take a
look at this sweater? It really seems to me to be
something for you. And [rom what I can teil the
size is good too. Which size do you take?

113

Brigitte: I 11suallv take size 42 or medium . This sweuter

is much too large. lts at least si ze 50. or XXL.
Tha(s better fr the lady hehind the reyistPr.
Hemum: Be carejid of what yoifre saying. }u l huve to
settle up with her soon.
Brigitte: Yes. but I still have nothing to pay f r! Id like
to pick out a skirt.
Herman: Of course, ma 'am , but you 've seen our entire
collection of skirts already.
Brigitte: You mean that awful skirt?
Herman: Yes, that's the skirt I mean. We have more
skirts in our other branch. And you may always
exchange of course.
Brigitte: How can I getto the other branch? Is it the
clothing store next to the toy shop, diagonally
across from the department store?
Herman: No, the one between the baker 's and
the butcher's, straight across from the
supermarket.
Brigitte: And there's a capable shop assistant ?
Herman: Yes, my brother and his wife work there. You
can ask them anything.
Brigitte: Oh. Maybe J've got a skirt lying around at
home ...

ac.

VOCABULARY

afrekenen

to settle up, to pay f or

afschuwelijk

horrible, awful

beeldig

gorgeous

beha (de; beha's)

bra

binnenkrijgen

to get, to obtain

blouse (de; blouses)

blouse

broek (de; broeken)

pants, trousers*

colbert (het; colberts)

jacket

*See not.e at end of vocabulary list.

114

collectie (de; collecties)

collectio11

dame (de; dames)

lady

dragen

to wear, to carry

enig

love/y

eronder

undemeath

filiaal (het; filialen)

branch

geheel

entire, whole

helemaal

totally, entirely

hip

hip, trendy

heer (de; heren)

gentleman

hoed (de; hoeden)

hat

iets langer

slightly langer

jas (de; jassen)

coat

kassa (de; kassa's)

cash register

kleurencombinatie (de;
-combinaties)

color combination

knie (de; knien)

knee

kort

short

korte broek (de;-broeken)

shorts*

kous (de; kousen)

stocking

kundig

capable, skilled, experienced

laars (de; laarzen)

boot

lang

~ong

maat (de; maten)

size

mode (de; modes)

fashion

net

just

onderbroek (de; -broeken)

underpants*

opvallend

showy

*In Dutch, words like pants, trousers, jeans, glasses, etc. are singular. For example, you
would say een broek (sg.) to refer to one pair of pants, and broeken (pl.) to refer to
multiple pairs of pants. Also note that in English, units of currency and measure are
plural with numbers greater than one, as in three dollars or two meters. But in Dutch,
the singularis usedin these cases: drie euro/dollar/pond/meter (three euros/dollars/
pounds/meters). A phrase such as drie euro's would mean three one-Euro coins.
115

overhemd (het; -hemden)

shirt

pet (de; petten)

C(lp

prachtig

mun1p /ous . yreut

recht tegenover

struiqht ucross

reeds

olrewlv (//11/)

riem (de; riemen)

helt

rok (de; rokken)

skirt

ruilen

to e.,clwnge

schoen(de;schoenen)

sluw

schuin tegenover

diayorwUv ucross

slechts

on!-;.'. iust. merel.v

sok (de; sokken)

sod

spijkerbroek (de; -broeken)

jeans

straks

50011

topje (het; topjes)

tank top

trui (de; truien)

sweatf'r, sweutshirt. iers1v

T-shirt (het; T-shirts)

T-shirt

uitkijken

to watch (out Jur}, to fllincl tu /)('

carejid

uitstekend

excellent

uitzoeken

to se!PCt , to pick out

8D. KEY PHRASES

Here are some phrases that will carne in handy whcn you 'n
shopping.

116

Waar kan ik een ... kopen?

Where can I buy a ... ?

Verkoopt u ... ?

Do you sell ... ?

Wie is er dan aan de beurt?

Who's next?

Kan ik u ergens mee van

dienst zijn?

Can I help you with something?

Anders nog iets, mevrouw/

meneer?

Anything else, ma'am/sir?

Wordt u al geholpen?

Are you being helped?

Nu ben ik aan de beurt!

J'm next in line!

Welke maat heeft u?

Which size do you take ?

Kan ik deze passen?

Can I try this (one) on?

Daar zijn de paskamers.

The fitting rooms are over there.

Wat voor een stof is dit?

What Jabric is this ?

Het is katoen/wol/leer/sude/
linnen.

!t's cotton/wool/feather/suede/linen.

Hebt u iets kleiners/groters?

Do you have something smaller/

larger?

Hoeveel kost dit?

How much does this cost?

Komt daar nog belasting bij?

Is there any tax?

Dat is erg duur/goedkoop.

That's very expensive/ inexpensive.

Accepteert u creditcards?

Do you take creditcards?

Wij accepteren contant geld,

reischeques en creditcards.

We accept cash, traveler's checks,

and credit cards.

Kunt u dit naar de VS

verschepen?

Can you ship this to the U.S.?

IE. CULTURE NOTE

European and American clothing sizes differ, so it's always a good

idea to know what size you take in Europe.
Bames (ladies)
jassen, jurken, pakken (coats, dresses, suits)
Europa

32

Amerika 2

34
4

36
6

38
8

40
10

42
12

44
14

46
16

48
18

40

41
91/2

50
20

truien, blouses (sweaters, blouses)

Europa

40

42

Amerika 32

34

44
36

46
38

48
40

50
42

37
9

38

39

40

41

9'h

10

101/z

11

kousen (stockings)
Europa

35

Amerika 8

36

B'h

schoenen (shoes)
Europa

35

Amerika 5

36
6

37
61/z

371h 38
71h
7

381h 39
8
81h

42
10
117

Hertn (91'11tleme11)
jassen, pakken (coats. suits)
Europa
44
Amerika 34

48
{8

46
36

')O

')2

'14

')

)8

60

40

42

44

48

50

overhemden (shirts)
Europa
Amerika

36
14

37 38
141/2 15

39 40
15 1/2 16

42
41
16 1/2 17

44
43
17 1/2 18

schoenen (shoes)
Europa

37112 38
Amerika 6
6 1/2

381/2 39
71/2
7

39 1/2 40
8
81/2

41

42
41
101/z 11

43 44
11 1/2 12

46
45
12 1/2 13

42
91/2

43
10

44
45
101/2 11

46
12

sokken (soeks)
Europa

39

Amerika 91/z

40
10

ondergoed (underwear)
Europa

Amerika

xs

XL

XXL

BF. GRAMMAR
Grammar point

1: Demonstratives and other determiners

Words like the, a, or this, which are used before nouns, are called determiners. You already know that de and het mean the, and that een
means a or an. Now let's look at some other common determiners,
some of which change depending on whether the noun that follows
is a de-word or a het-word. We'll start with demonstratives, which
correspond to this, that, these, and those. Notice that the plurals
(deze, these and die, those) do not change according to the gender
of the noun, hut the singulars (dit/deze, this and dat/die, thot) do.

118

HET-WORDS:

DE-WORDS:

dit boek (this book)

deze man (this man)

deze boeken (these books)

deze mannen (these men)

dat boek (that book)

die man (that man}

die boeken (those books)

die mannen (those men)

Here are a few other common determiners. Notice that the torms
used with singular het-words do not end in -e1 but the forms uscd
with plural het-words and both singular and plural de-words do.

You learned possessives in Lesson 2, so as you know, most do not

change according to gender. The one exception is ons/onze (our).
Ons is used with singular het-words, and onze is used in all other
cases.
i HET-WORDS:

DE-WORDS:

i welk kind (which child)

welke moeder (which mother)

r-elk kleinkind (every grandchild)

elke grootmoeder (every

grandmother)

: ieder huis (every house)

ons vakantiehuis (our vacation

iedere winkel (every shop)

onze badkamer (our bathroom)

house)

welke kinderen (which children)

welke moeders (which mothers)

onze huizen (our houses)

onze kamers (our rooms)

Note that such a is the singular zo'n, and such is the plural zulke.

rzo'-~ ;;;-.:>t-<i~d-(~~ch

a beautifu/

! child)

zulke lieve kinderen (such nice

children)

Deze jas is mooi, maar die sweater is lelijk.

This jacket is beautiful, but that sweater is ugly.
Elk overhemd in deze winkel is duur.
Every shirt in this store is expensive.

Ons huis is op het platteland en onze winkel is in de stad.

Our house is in the country, and our store is in the city.

Wke riem koop je?

Which belt are you buying?
Ze hebben zo'n mooie flat.
They have such a beautiful apartment.
Waar kan ik zulke schoenen vinden?
Where can 1 find such shoes?

As you might guess, proper names of people are always de-words:

die Jan (that Jan), onze Anneke (our Anneke).
Grammar point

2:

Prefix verbs

Dutch, like English, has a lot of verbs that are composed of a main
verb along with a prefix. In English, there are verbs like outnum119

ber, overrule, underpay, and update. Dutch has similar examples:

onderwerpen (to subject), voorkomen (to prevent), doorkruisen (to
traverse). Notice that the stress (the underlined syllable) in these
infinitives is on the verb itself, rather than on the prefix. The reason
why this is important is because it means that the prefix is always
attached to the verb. (Of course in actual written Dutch, this syllable
isn't underlined! It's clone here to illustrate the point.)
Zij doorkruisen het hele land.
They travel all over the country.
Zo voorkom je ongelukken.
That's how (/it., so) you prevent accidents.
Hij overlaadt haar met cadeautjes.
He overloads her with presents.

There aren't many of these "inseparable" prefix verbs in Dutch.

We'll carne back to them in Lesson 11 hut first it's important to
take a look at the more common type of prefix verbs, the ones
whose prefixes separate from the verb. These separable prefixes
are also sometimes referred to as "particles." English has something
similar, with so-called "phrasal" verbs: I can't make this out. tll take
things "!:!:.P._ with your superior. He looked the word up in the dictionary. Let's look at some examples in Dutch with QE_bellen (to call up),
goedkeuren (to approve), oversteken (to cross over), aankomen (to
arrive), voorkomen (to happen), rondkijken (to look around). This
time, we'll underline the particle, which is stressed.
1

Morgen bel ik haar op.

Tomorrow J'll call her~
De senaat keurt het besluit goed.
The senate approves the decision.
Hij steekt de straat over.
He is crossing the street.
De trein komt om zes uur aan.
The train arrives at six o'clo'"C:
Zo'n vergissing komt vaker voor.
Such an error happens more frequently.
Kijkt u liever zelf rond?
Do you prefer to look around yourself?

As you can see, the stressed particle in Dutch comes at the end of
the sentence, separated from the verb. That's why these verbs are
120

called "separable" prefix verbs. The major cornplication in Dutch is

that the particle can also be attached to the verb itself. This happens
in infinitives (~bellen, oversteken , aankomen ), past participles
(~gebeld, overgestok en, aangekom en) and present participle (~
bellend, oversteken d, aankomen d). We'II learn more about past
and present participles later, but for now take a look at the following examples, which include the modals that you Iearned in Lesson
5. As you know, when you use a modal, the main verb comes at the
end of the sentence, in its infinitive form . So this is one example of
when a separable prefix verb will be "whole."
Kunt u voor mij de dokter opbellen?
Can you call the doctor for me?
Hier moeten wij de straat oversteken.
Here we have to cross the street.
Wanneer wil je vertrekken ?
When do you want to leave?
Keep in mind that even if English and Dutch have similar types of
verbs, it isn't necessarily the case that a Dutch prefix verb is always
translated as an English phrasal verb, or vice versa. And speaking of translation , you can sometimes figure out the meaning of
a prefix verb by adding together the sum of its parts, for example
aankomen (to arrive) is composed of aan (at, on, to) and komen
(to come), which taken together can logically be understoo d as to
arrive. But very often Dutch prefix verbs are just as idiomatic as
English phrasal verbs. (What is it about make and out that mean
"to perceive the meaning of," or even more idiomatically, "to kiss"?)
So it's best to simply memorize them. You'll find that you'll have
plenty of opportuni ty to practice; these verbs are very common in
Dutch!
But just irt case you'd like a summary of some of the prefixes you'll
come across, here is a long list of prefixes, their (approxim ate)
meanings, and example verbs. Don't try to memorize this list; simply get a sense of how Dutch uses prefixes along with basic verbs
to build new meanings. Notice that a lot of the prefixes are prepositions, hut not all of them. Those prefixes that are marked with an
asterisk may he either separable or inseparabl e. This will depend
on where the stress falls. All of the verbs in this list, though, are
separable prefix verbs.

121

aan (at, on, to)

aanspreken (to speak to, to address)

achter (behind, after)

achterlaten (to /eave behind)

af (off, down, complete)

afbetalen (to pay off)

bij (near, onto)

bijvullen (to fi/I up, to refue/, to top

off)

binnen (inside)

binnenblijven (to stay in)

boven (up, above)

bovenliggen (to be on top)

buiten (outside)

buitenkomen (to come outside)

dicht (c/osed)

dichtdoen (to close)

dood (dead)

dooddrukken (to crush to death)

door (through, further)

doorbreken (to burst, to break)

fijn (fine)

fijnmaken (to pu/verize, to crush

fine)

goed (good)

goedkeuren (to opprove)

heen (away)

heengaan (to go away)

in (in, into)

indelen (to c/assify)

klaar (ready)

klaarzetten (to make ready)

krom ( crooked)

kromtrekken (to worp}

langs (a/ong)

langsgaan (to visit)

leeg (empty)

leegeten (to clean one's plate)

mee (with, along)

meekomen (to come along, to

accompany)

mis (wrong)

misgaan (to go wrong)

~- (~.fter)

nabootsen (to copy, to imitate)

~r(down)

neerleggen (to lay or put down)

~~ (";~~~d; down)

~- (under, down)

(to tip over)

omkiepen

ondergaan

(to go down, to sink)

~,on)

opdrijven

~(open)

openleggen

~,..(over, again)

overkoken

/ recht (straight)

rechtbuigen

(to drive or force up)

(to reveal, to lay open)

(to boil over)

(to straighten)

t~-

122

rond (round)

rondgaan
ei reu late)

(to go around, to

samen (together)

samenwerken (to cooperate)

tegen (against)

tegenvallen (to be a
disappointment)

terug (back)

terugkeren (to turn back, to return)

thuis (home, at home)

thuisblijven (to stay home)

toe (towards, c/osed)

toevoegen (to add to, to attach)

uit (out)

uitdrogen (to dry out, to dessicate)

verder (further)

verdergaan (to go further, to

continue)

vol (full)

vollopen (to fi/I, to become fi/led)

voor (/or)

voorleggen (to submit, to place

before)

voort (forward)

voortzetten (to continue, to carry on)

weer (again)

weergeven (to render)

weg (away)

weglopen (to run away)

You'll also come across compound prefixes, for example: aaneen (together), achteraan (at the back), achterna (behind, after), achterom
(round the back), achterop (behind), achterover (backwards), achteruit (back), bijeen (together), omhoog (up), omlaag (down), omver (over, down), onderuit (over, down), uiteen (apart), voorbij (past,
by), voorop (in front), voorover (headfirst), and vooruit (further,
forward, before). There are other prefixes of course; this list is just a
summary of some of the more common ones.
In a Dutch dictionary, verbs are listed in their infinitive form. To
indicate whether a prefix verb is separable or inseparable, you'll
have t look for where the stress falls. If it falls on the prefix, then
it's a separable prefix verb. This may also be indicated by giving
the separable form after the main entry, as in: aanspreken (spreek
aan). Sometimes, the same verb is separable in one case, hut inseparable in another, with different meanings. For example, voorkomen
(komt voor) (to come to the front, to appear in court, to happen), hut
voorkomen (to prevent, to avert).

Grammer point J: Pollte requests

In Dutch, just as in English, there are both direct and more polite
ways of asking questions. For example, you could ask a friend or
someone you know well a question like the following.

123

Ga je met me mee?
Are you goi119 with m e?

Komen jullie vanavond?

Wil/ you come tonight?

But in more polite situations, you would address sorneone as u instead of je or jullie, and you would soften your requests, perhaps
with a modal like willen, kunnen, or mogen.
Kunt u dat voor me spellen?
Can you spel/ that for me?
Wilt u allen opstaan?
Would you all (please) stand up ?
Mag ik de truiencollectie even zien?
May I see the collection of sweatshirts?
Mogen we buiten spelen?
May we play outside?
The past tense of willen (wou in the singular, and wilden in the
plural) expresses the sarne thing as would like in English. It is usually used with graag.
Ik wou graag een bruinbrood.
I would like a (loaf of) whole grain bread.

We wilden graag naar huis.

We would like to go home.
The past tense of zullen (zou in the singular, zouden in the plural)
is also very commonly used in polite requests. It can be translated
as the conditional (would or could) in English.
Ik zou graag bruinbrood eten.
J'd really like to eat whole grain bread.
Zou je met me mee kunnen gaan?
Would/Could you go with me?
Notice that since zullen is a modal, the main verb is sent to the end
of the sentence. But sometimes, two verbs can be at the end. In this
case, a second modal will come first, and then the main verb.
Zouden we buiten mogen spelen?
Could we play outside?
Zou ik de truiencollectie even mogen zien?
Could I see the collection of sweaters?
Zou u dat voor me kunnen spellen?
Would you be able to spell that f or me?
124

Zouden jullie mij willen helpen?

Could you help me?

Of course, it's always good to add a name or say meneer or mevrouw, and of course to end with alstublieft (please, fml .) or alsjeblieft (please, infml.).

BG. READING
Read the following short passage, written by Brigitte from our
dialogue.
Laatst was ik in een kledingzaak. De verkoper vroeg: "Zou ik u ergens mee kunnen helpen of kijkt u liever zelf rond?" Ik zei dat ik
op zoek was naar een rok. Hij had maar n rok, een superkorte.
Dat was niets voor mij. Hij bood me wat anders aan, een blouse,
een broek, een trui. Ik had daar geen zin in. Bovendien was het
niet mijn maat. Het paste de vrouw achter de kassa beter. In het
andere filiaal waren wel meer rokken, maar daar stond ook de
broer van die verkoper. Ik ben maar snel weggegaan.

Recently I was in a clothing store. The shop assistant asked, "May I

help you with something, or do you prefer to look around yourself?" I
said that I was looking fora skirt. He only had one skirt, a really short
one. That was not for me. He offered me something else, a blouse,
a pair of pants, a sweater. I wasn't interested in (any of) that. And
what's more, it wasn't my size. It fit the woman behind the register better. There were more skirts in the other branch, but that shop
assistant's brother was also there. So I left quickly.

BH . C,ULTURE NOTE :z
By now you know the difference in meaning between the familiar
jij/je and the more forma! or polite u. But you probably don't know
the history behind these pronouns, and how their development is
parallel in ways to the development of you in English. In earlier
forms of Dutch and English, the second person singular pronouns
du and thou existed. In a very close relative, German, du still exists
today. But in the Middle Ages, Dutch du and English thou faded
away, and were replaced by two forms that were originally much
more polite: the plural forms jij (or gij in southern parts of the Dutch
speaking territories) and you. This happened roughly between the
years 1200 and 1400, when people followed French courtly ro-

125

mances, in which knights and ladies addressed one ;rnotlwr with

the plural French pronoun vous instead of tlw sing11lar tu. So Dutdi
and English speakers did the same thing. using the plural lorrn s
jij/gij and you. But the parallel between languages stopped there. In
modern French, tu and vous still exist, hut in English you became
the only form, used as a singular or a plural. and both formally and
informally. In Dutch, however, people started using another plural
form jelieden or jelui, which literally rneant you people. Nowadays,
of course, this has been altered a bit, and the plural form is jullie.
Both jij/gij and jullie became informal, so there was a need for a
new polite form, especially in written language. The Dutch found it
in the phrase Uwe Edelheid. This is a third person honorific form
used to address someone, similar to the English Your Honor or Your
Majesty or Your Lordship, as in "Did Your Lordship sleep welf?" Later,
Uwe Edelheid was abbreviated to UE, and then simply U. Since
this was originally a third person form, you may h ear older peopl e
say U is, U wil, U kan, U zal, and U heeft. But today people mostly
treat u as a second person: u bent, u wilt, u kunt, u zult, u hebt.

EXERCISES
Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogu e. You
may not need to use every word in the li st, and it is possibl e th at
you need to use the same word twice.
zou, op, afrekenen, uit, deze, meer, u, rondkijken, hadden,
graag, dank
Herman: Kan ik u helpen of wilt u zelf
Brigitte: Nee, ik had

'?

een nieuwe broek.

Herman : Welke kleur wilt 3

het liefst? Paars?

Brigitte: 4 _ _ _ u voor mij een groene of een blauwe

kunnen vinden?
Herman: Ja, ik zoek voor u een mooie broek 5 _ _ _.
Brigitte: Ja, maar 6

broek is te groot voor mij.

Herman: Ik pak een kleinere broek. U kunt daar bij de

.
kassa 7
ook nog een
Brigitte: Ja, dank u, maar ik 8
--blouse willen.
126

B. Choose the correct determiner in each of the following sentences.

1 Welk/welke

2.

jas heb jij nu weer?

Ze gaan ieder/iedere week naar de speelgoedwinkel.

3. Zou je zo'n/zulke auto niet beter wassen ?

4. Dit/deze filiaal is niet schoon.
5. Waar is ons/onze nieuwe huis?
6. We gaan woensdag om kwart over elf naar dat/die stadje.

C. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.

i.

Would you give mea new pencil ? (fml.)

2.

He approves of the red hat and the green jacket.

3. Today she calls every shop in the city.

4. Can 1 use the bath room?

5. They have to wait for the bus.
6. Would you settle up with the shop assistant? (fml.)
7. When does a new year start?
8. At the stroke of two in the morning you'll be at home again. (pl.)

'',tflDEPEN DENT CHALLENG E

S(!<:

how far you can get doing some online shopping in Dutch.

lmagirw that you need to buy a few articles of clothing. Visit

an online clothing store, for example Hema (www.hema.nl) or

perhap'> C&A (www.c-en-a.nl). C&A, by the way, opened its first

shop in 1861 in the Dutch town of Sneek. The founders were
the G''. rrrlan brothers flemens and ~ugust Brenninkmeijer.
The firn1 is now quite international. Explore the site, and of
cours' t1~ note of any new vocabulary you find. See if you can
understand the descriptions of the clothes for sale, and keep an
ey'~ out for your sizes.

127

ANSWER KEY
A.i. rond kijk en;
8. zou

2.

e ; 7 alre kerw n ;
graa g; 3. u; 4. zou; 5. uit ; 6. dez

dat
iedere; 3. zo'n; 4. dit; 5. ons ; 6.
rode
will en gev en? 2. Hij keu rt het
C.i. Zou u mij een nieu w potl ood
/
elke
zp
belt
g
daa
Van
3.
ert goed.
ove rhem d en het gro ene colb
Zij
ik de bad kam er geb ruik en? 5.
iedere win kel in de stad op. 4. Kan
kZou u bij de verk ope r will en afre
moe ten op de bus wac hten . 6.
int
beg
bij de verk ope r ?) 7. Wa nne er
ene n? (Zou u will en afre ken en
zijn
e uur in de mor gen /'s mor gen s
een nieu w jaar ? 8. Klokslag twe
jullie wee r thuis.
B.

128

1.

welke;

2.

LESSON

In het restaurant
In the restaurant

Welcome to Lesson 9. This lesson will focus on food and restaurants, so you'll learn a lot of important and useful vocabulary that
will work up your appetite. That's good, because you'll also tackle
a new verb tense in this lesson. You'll learn how to talk about the
past, including some verb irregularities that you'll need to know.
Finally, you'll learn all about diminutives, which are very common
in Dutch. But first, a vocabulary warm-up with some expressions
of quantity.

9A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

in z'n eentje

alone, on its/one's own

een hoop

a lot

meer dan genoeg

more than enough

veel teveel

much toa much

een stllk. of tien

about ten (lit., a piece of ten)

een vracht aan

a load of

Het ziet er zwart van de

mensen.

!t's swarming with people.

98. DIALOGUE
Today is M.r. Boon's birthday, and he's decided to treat himself toa
nice meal.
Serveerster: Goedenavond, meneer, heeft u gereserveerd?
Meneer Boon: Nee, maar het is.mijn verjaardag en ik
dacht bij mezelf: ik heb wel een avondje uit
verdiend.

129

Serveerster: Gefeliciteerd meneer! Met hoeveel mensen

bent u?
Meneer Boon: Ik ben in m'n eentje, hebt u dat niet gezien?
Serveerster: Neemt u mij niet kwalijk. Loopt u maar met
me mee. Dan geef ik u een mooi tafeltje bij
de keuken.
Meneer Boon: Mag ik misschien bij het raam zitten?
Serveerster: Helaas, die tafel is gereserveerd. Kan ik uw
jas aannemen?
Meneer Boon: Dank u.
Serveerster: Wilt u alvast wat drinken?
Meneer Boon: Een glaasje droge witte huiswijn graag.
Serveerster: Alstublieft. Hier heeft u de menukaart.
Meneer Boon: Tjonge, de voorgerechten zien er goed
uit. Maar dat is misschien te veel met
hoofdgerecht en nagerecht samen.
Serveerster: U kunt ook het dagmenu nemen. Vooraf
krijgt u een groentesoepje. Het hoofdgerecht
is lamsbout of een scholletje, beide met sla
en gebakken aardappeltjes. Als toetje is er
warme appeltaart met slagroom of een ijsje.
Meneer Boon: .Dat dagmenu lijkt me meer dan genoeg. Dan
wil ik graag groentesoep, de lamsbout en het
appeltaartje.
Serveerster: Uitstekend meneer. Wilt u nog wat drinken?
Meneer Boon: Een karafje rode wijn alstublieft.
Serveerster: Uitstekend meneer. Dan is hier al uw
voorgerechtje.
Meneer Boon: Mevrouw! Ik heb geen mes gekregen.
Serveerster: Excuses meneer. Dat heb ik vergeten. Hier
hebt u een mes. Eet smakelijk.
Meneer Boon: Mevrouw! De karaf is leeg. Mag ik een
nieuwe?
Serveerster: Alstublieft. Is verder alles naar wens?
Meneer Boon: Er zit een slakje in de sla naast het boutje.
Serveerster: Stil meneer, anders wil iedereen een slakje!
Grapje! Er gaat wel een hoop mis vanavond.
130

Mijn excuses. Deze karaf heeft u van het

huis gekregen.
Meneer Boon: Dank u. Hik.
Serveerster : Kan ik u de appeltaart brengen?
Meneer Boon: Ja graag, en ook een kopje koffie.
Serveerste r: Alstublieft meneer, uw dessert.
Meneer Boon: Heerlijk, maar ik heb er toch maar n
besteld?
Serveerste r: Eh ... nog een cognacje bij de koffie?
Meneer Boon: Ja lekker! En daarna de rekening. Ik ben
geloof ik een beetje aangescho ten.
Serveerste r: Zal ik een taxi voor u bellen? Misschien is
het n karaf te veel geweest. Nog een fijne
avond verder.

Waitress: Good evening sir, do you have a reservation?

Mr. Boon: No, but it's my birthday and 1 thought to
myself: 1 deserve an evening out.
Waitress: Congratulations, sir! How many of you are
here?
Mr. Boon: J'm on my own, haven't you seen?
.Waitress: Excuse me. Just come (lit., walk) with me. J'll
give you a nice table near the kitchen.
Mr. Boon: May 1 sit near the window, maybe?
Waitress: Unfortunately that table has been reserved.
May 1 take your coat?
Mr. Boon: Thank you.
Waitress: Would you like to drink something in the
meantime?
Mr. Boon: A glass of dry' white house wine, please.
Waitress: Here you are, the menu.
Mr. Boon: Wow, the first courses/appetizers look good.
But maybe that's toa much together with a
main course and a dessert.
Waitress: You can also have the menu of the day. First off
you'll get vegetable soup. The main dish is a leg

131

of lamb or jlounder, bath with salad andfriPd

pntatoes. As a dessert there 's warm apple pie
with whipped cream or an ice-cream cone.
Mr. Boon : That menu of the day seems more than enough
to me. So J'll take the vegetable soup, the leg of
lamb, and the apple pie.
Waitress: Very welf, sir. Do you want anything more
drink?

to

Mr. Boon: A carafe of red wine, please.

Waitress: Very welf, sir. And here is your first course
al ready.
Mr. Boon: Ma 'am ! 1 didn 't get a knife.
Waitress: 1 beg your pardon, sir. 1 forgot. Here's a knife
for you. Enjoy your mea[.
Mr. Boon: Ma'am, the carafe is empty. May 1 get a new
one?
Waitress : Here you are. Is everything to your liking so far ?
Mr. Boon : There 's a snail in the salad, next to the leg.
Waitress: Quiet sir, or everybody wil! want a snail! fust
kidding ! There 's a lot going wrong tonight. My
apologies. This carafe is on the house.
Mr. Boon: Thank you. Hi ccup!
Waitress : May 1 bring the apple pie for you?
Mr. Boon: Yes please, and a cup of coffee toa.
Waitress: Here sir, your dessert.
Mr. Boon : Delicious, but 1 ordered only one, 1 thought?
Waitress: Eh . .. a glass of cognac with the coffee ?
Mr. Boon: Yes, beautiful! And then the bil!. J'm a bit tipsy.
I think.
Waitress: Should I call a taxi for you? Maybe it was one
carafe toa many. Have a nice evening.

9C. VOCABULARY
aangeschoten(-; meer
.aangeschoten, meest
ltMlgeschoten)
132

tipsy

aannemen

to take, to accept

alstublieft

here you are, please

alvast

in the meantime

anders

otherwise

appeltaart (de; -taarten)

apple pie

bakken

to bake, to fry

beide

bath

dagmenu (het; -menu's)

menu of the day

droog (droge; droger, droogst)

dry

een hoop

a lot

eruitzien

to appear, to look

excuses!

my apologies !

fooi (de; fooien)

tip

geloven

to believe

glas (het; glazen)

glass

grap (de; grappen)

joke

groentesoep (de; -soepen)

vegetable soup

heerlijk (heerlijke; heerlijker,

heerlijkst)

delicious

helaas

unfortunately

hoofdgerecht (het; -gerechten)

main course

huiswijn (de; -wijnen)

house wine

ijsje (het; ijsjes)

ice cream (cone)

in zijn eentje

on one's own

jenever (de; jenevers)

Dutch gin

karaf (de; karaffen)

caraJe

krijgen

to get, to obtain

lamsbout (de; -bouten)

leg of lamb

leeg (lege; leger, leegst)

empty

lepel (de; lepels)

spoon

lijken

to seem

menukaart (de; -kaarten)

menu
133

mes (het; messen)

knife

misgaan

to go wrong

nagerecht (het; -gerechten)

dessert course

ober (de; obers)

waiter

raam (het; ramen)

window

rekening(de;rekenin gen)

bill, check, account

reserveren

to reserve

restaurant (het; restaurants)

restaurant

samen

together

schol (de; schollen)

flounder, plaice

serveerster (de; serveersters)

waitress

sla (de;-)

salad

slagroom (de; -)

whipped cream, whipping cream

slak (de; slakken)

snai/, slug

stil (stille; stiller, stilst)

quiet

taxi (de; taxi's)

taxi

tjonge!

wow!jboy!

toetje (het; toetjes)

dessert

verdienen

to earn

vergeten

to forget

vork (de; vorken)

f ork

vooraf

beforehand, first

voorgerecht (het; -gerechten)

first course/ appetizer

warm

warm

wijn (de; wijnen)

wine

tl. KEY PHRASES

Here are some phrases that will come in handy in a restaurant.
Hebt u een tafeltje voor vier
personen?

134

()ver een half uur is er een

. ;~tjevrij.

Do you have a table for f our

people?
There wil/ be a table available in
half an hour.

Hebt u gereserveerd?

Do you have a reservation?

Wilt u de menukaart?

Do you want the menu?

Wilt u alvast iets drinken?

Do you want something to drink in

the meantime?

Hebt u ook vegetarische

schotels?

Do you also have vegetarian dishes?

Hebt u een keuze kunnen

maken?

Have you decided?

Ik wil graag kip/varkensvlees/

lamsvlees.

J'll have the chicken/pork/f.amb.

Ik heb mijn biefstuk graag

rood/medium/doorbakken.

I'd like my steak rare/medium/well

done.

Ik had graag vis/kreeft/

garnalen.

J'd like fish/f.obster/shrimp.

Ik neem aardappels/worteltjes/
sperziebonen.

I'll take potatoes/carrots/green

beans.

Ik zou graag soep en salade

willen.

J'd like soup and a salad.

Kan ik een ander servet

krijgen?

Could 1 have another napkin?

Zou ik nog wat water kunnen

krijgen, alstublieft?

Could 1 have some more water,

please?

Zou u mij het zout/de peper

kunnen doorgeven?

Would you please pass me the

salt/pepper?

We zouden wat brood en boter

willen IJ.ebben.

We'd like some bread and butter.

Ik zou wel een kopje thee/

koffie willen.

J'd like a cup of tea/coffee.

met suiker/honing/citroen/
melk

with sugarjhoney/lemon/milk

Eet smakelijk 1

Have a nice meal!

Is alles naar wens?

Is everything to your liking?

De keuken is al gesloten.

The kitchen is closed already.

Mag ik de rekening?

May I get the bill?

Ober, kanik afrekenen?

Waiter, may 1 settle up?

135

gE. CULTURE NOTE

The Netherland s has a wid<' variety CJf n:<..,t;111r;rnh, ;rnd 1ri fidrt1r 11
lar, Dutch cities offer a range of rest;rnrar1t choiu:'> lrorri iHri1ir1d tfi,:
world. In smaller towns the choices may ~w rnon: limitr:d , h1111 :/ ,r:
small village has at least one snack bar whcre th<:y '><:Il fri,rJ Li .t
food. Typical Dutch fa re might be patatje met (o har;()! f rie<, v;11f1
mayonnais e), kroket (a kind of crunchy meol mil) or kaa'>'>nufflf:
(cheese souffl), which has nothing in common with H: h1:n d1 va
riety. The second most popular variety of restaurant is prohabl y thr
Chinees-In disch Restauran t or just Chinees. This is at lf:a'>t a tah:
out place, but often with a sit-down restaurant where yfJu can f:it
Chinese and Indonesian food la Dutch. Recently, many of thf-'.~r:
places ha~e been transforme d into a wok-resta urant, WrH:re you
can choose raw ingredient s from a buffet. They will he prep:!rtd
in the wok in a matter of minutes. Apart from Dutch, Indonesian
and Chinese food, you'll find restaurant s that offer French, Belgian ,
"1talian, Greek, Moroccan, Turkish, Surinames e, Mexican , Thai , and
Vietnames e cuisine, among others.
Going out for dinner in the Netherland s takes longer than in the U.S.
Diners may spend two hours on a three-cour se meaL This is not due
to lack of service, but rather because eating together is considered a
social occasion. People will talk before, during, and especially after
the meal. The food will be brought for everyone at the same time ,
and the dishes will be taken away after everyone is finished , or even
a bit later. This is considered polite. Guests are not rushed out the
door, hut rather asked if they would like to have another drink. l t is
normal for people to linger at their table after they've finished eating, and the rekening (bil!) won't be presented automatica lly. but
has to be requested. Tipping isn't compulsor y, but it is appreciate d.
A fooi (tip) of 10 to i 5% is considered good.

9F. GRAMMA R

6rmmar point 1: The present perfect

In Lesson 7 you learned the simple past tense of hebben (had/had-

den) and zijn (was/ware n). All Dutch verbs have simple past ten se

136

forms, which we'll comeback to in Lesson i2. In Dutch the past is

usually expressed with the present perfect tense, and not with the
simple past tense. The present perfect in Dutch looks a lot like the
present perfect in English; it uses a conjugate d form of hebben as
an auxiliary, and then a past participle, just like have spoken, hns

gone, and so on. But a lot of verbs use zijn instead of hebben as an
auxiliary. We'll cover those in the next lesson.
To form the past participle of regular Dutch verbs, take the -en off
of the infinitive to get the verb stem, add ge- to the beginning of the
stem, and then either -t or -d to the end, depending on the ending
of the verb stem. If a verb stem ends in a voiceless consonant (-t, -k,
-f, -s, -ch, or -p), -t is added. (You can remember these consonants
if you keep the Dutch word 't kofschip, a kind of ship, in mind.)
So, for example, from werken (to work), the past participle is gewerk-t (worked) . The whole conjugation is as follows . Notice that
the Dutch present perfect can be translated as the present perfect
in English, or (more commonly) the simple past tense.
I have worked, I worked
you (have) worked

' u hebt gewerkt

you (have) worked

; hij, zij/ze, het/'t heeft gewerkt

he, she, it (hos) worked

.i

i wij/we hebben gewerkt

we (have) worked

1-j~Ule hebben gewerkt

you (have) worked

r~~~;~-~~-~~e~ ~ewerkt

they (have) worked

Some other verbs that form their past participle like werkengewerkt are: zetten-gezet (to put), hopen-gehoopt (to hope) ,
boffen-geboft (to be lucky), poetsen-gepoetst (to brush); pochen-gepocht (to baast). If the verb sterns ends in any other consonant or a vowel, -d is added instead of -t. But in pronunciation,
this sounds just like -t.
i

ik heb gezegd

I (have) said

r-~u~:~::~::~---~-: - -

you (have) said

E'!_ zij/ze, het/'t ~~eft.gezegd "

he, she, it (hos) said

~~!~'.we hebben ge_z_.e._1."."d". """"."""."." ....".

we (have) said

i Jullie hebben gezegd

you (have) said

--- .

_" --~--~"- ".~.

zij/ze hebben gezegd

you (have) said

----. --~ - - '

they (have) said

Other examples are willen-gewild (to want), proeven-geproefd

(to task),Jcun.nen-gekund (to can), breien-gebreid, (to knit),
leggen~g~legd, (to lay); stoeien-gestoeid, (to play around).

137

Don't forget about your spelling mies regarding vowel lengt lt . h>r
example, leggen (to lay) loses one of it s g's in the past parti c iph
(gelegd), because there's no need fora doubl e g to show that ei s <i
short vowel before -gd. On the other hand, with a verb like lenen
(to [end, to borrow), you need to double the e before -d in geleend,
because a single e would be pronounced short instead of long.
If a verb infinitive starts with ge-, be-, er-, her-, ont-, or ver-, don 't
add ge- to form the past participle. So, for example, bestellen (to
order) becomes besteld (ordered) , bedoelen (to mean) becomes bedoeld (meant), etc.

The word order with the present perfect is very similar to the word
order with modals. The conjugated verb (in thi s case the auxili ary
hebben) is in the second position, and the other verb (in this case
the past participle) is at the end. In yes-no questions, the conjugated
auxiliary comes first. Niet usually comes before the past participle,
unless it's negating a particular phrase.
De ober heeft zijn schoenen niet gepoetst.
The waiter didn 't polish his shoes.
We hebben niet in Amsterdam gewerkt.
We didn't work in Amsterdam. (But somewhere else.)
Waarom heb je dat tegen haar gezegd?
Why did you say that to her?
Hebt u groentesoep besteld?
Did you order vegetable soup?
Dat hebben ze niet zo bedoeld.
They didn't mean it that way.
Notice that in all of the examples above, the Dutch present perfect is translated as the simple past in English. Depending on the
context, and words like al (already) , nog (still) , ooit (ever). nooit
(never), and so on, the present perfect may be the more idiomatic
translation.
Wij hebben dat al eerder geproefd.
Weve already tasted that earlier.
Heb je dat ooit gezegd?
Have you ever said that?
Dat heb ik in dit restaurant nooit besteld.
J've never ordered that in this restaurant.
138

Grammer point :z: lrregular past participles

English has a lot of very common verbs with irregular past participles (speak-spoken, take-taken, lie-lain, put-put, and so
on). Dutch is no different. Most of these participles begin with the
prefix ge-, end with the suffix -en, and undergo a vowel change in
between. There are quite a few verbs with irregular past participles,
and there's no need for you to try to memorize them all now. There
are some patterns of vowel changes that we'll go over right now,
hut if you'd like a more complete list, you can look at the appendix
listing irregular verbs. Most of the verbs listed below use hebben as
an auxiliary in the past tense, but blijven, beginnen, komen, gaan,
vallen and worden all use zijn. We'll return to that in Lesson io.
There are quite a lot of verbs with the vowel change ij > ee. Remember of course that the sound ee is spelled e at the end of an
open syllable. And don't forget that if a verb starts with ge-, be-, er-,
her-, ont-, or ver-, the prefix ge- isn't added, so the past participle of
ontbijten is ontbeten.
rbtijven-gebleven

to stay-stayed

kijken-gekeken

to look-looked

f--- .
1

~- ~--

i krijgen-gekregen

to get-gotten

1---

1-~ntbijten.-ontbeten

t;

to have breakfast-had breakfast

to seem-seemed

I sdtQnen-gesch. enen

schrijven-geschreven

to write-written

- - - - ---

Ze heeft een cadeautje gekregen.

She got a little present.
Hoe laat hebben jullie ontbeten?
What time did (all of} you eat breakfast?

The vowel changes ie

>

oo and ui

>

oo are also rather frequent.

bieden-geboden

to ofjer-ofjered

kiezen-gekozen

to choose-chosen

vliegen-gevlogen

to fiy-fiown

buigen-ge.l>ogen

to bow-bowed

ruiken-proken

to sme/1-smelled

sluiten ... psloten

to close-closed
139

Heb je al gekozen?
Have you chosen yet?
Wie heeft de deur gesloten?
Who closed the door?

Another change is i

>

o.
to begin-begun

beginnen-begonnen

to bind-bound

binden-gebonden

to drink-drunk

drinken-gedronken

to find-found

vinden-gevonden

Ze hebben geen wijn gedronken.

They didn 't drink any wine.
We hebben een gezellig restaurantje in De Pijp gevonden.
We found a cozy little restaurant in De Pijp.

There is also the change e

>

o.
to help-he/ped

. helpen-geholpen
vechten-gevochten

to fight-fought

verzenden-verzonden

to send-sent

zwemmen-gezwommen

to swim-swum

We hebben lekker in de Noordzee gezwommen.

We went fora nice swim in the North Sea.
Ik heb de kaart nog niet verzonden.
1 haven't sent the postcard yet.

As well as the change ee

>

oo.

nemen-genomen

to take-taken

spreken-gesproken

to speak-spoken

breken-gebroken

to break-broken
to steal-stolen

Wanneer heb je met hem gesproken?

When did you speak with him?

Deze film heeft geen records gebroken.

This film didn 't break any records.
140

A few common verbs change i

>

ee.

Hgen-gelegen

to lie-lain

zitten-gezeten

to sit-sat

We hebben op het strand gelegen.

We lay on the beach.
Maria heeft naast mij gezeten.
Maria sat next to me.

And some past participles keep the same vowel as the infinitive.

r-~~p;~:...-~lapen

to sleep-stept
to fall-fallen

1-;llen-gevallen
1

- ----- -- . .

..

P-~~~

to let-let
to carry-carried

~
~--~
...,.n-p1even
n-gefezen

to give-given
to read-read

vergeten-vergeten

~~;.:~~~~~--

to eat-eaten

to forget-forgotten
-

to come-come

lopengelopen

to walk-walked

worden-geworden

to become-become

. roepen-geroepen

to call-called

: houden-gehouden

to hold-held

Ik heb nog niet geslapen, maar ik ben niet moe.

I haven't slept yet, hut I'm not tired.

Ik heb mijn jas vergeten.

I've f orgotten my coat.

We hebben snel in een snackbar gegeten.

We ate quickly in a snack bar.

Wie heeft je de menukaart gegeven?

Who gave you the menu?

141

Notice that gegeten adds an extra g. Another common verb th<lt

undergoes a consonant change is:
vriezen-gevroren

to freeze-frozen

Some past participles have the suffix -n instead of -en.

doen-gedaan

to do-done

gaan-gegaan

to go-gone

staan-gestaan

to stand-stood

zien-gezien

to see-seen

Heeft u onze wijnkaart al gezien?

Have you already seen our wine list?

Wat heb je gedaan?

What did you do?

And some take the suffix -t or -d. Notice that zijn has a completely
different past participle.
brengen-gebracht

to bring-brought

denken-gedacht

to think-thought

kopen-gekocht

to buy-bought

zoeken-gezocht

to seek-sought

hebben-gehad

to have-had

zijn-geweest

to be-been

Dat heb ik nooit gekocht!

f ve never bought that !
Hans heeft een nieuwe broek gekocht.

Hsns bought a new pair of pants.

r point J: Diminutives

~' ~ . . nutives are forms of nouns that introduce a sense of small-

t~;~, a bit like the English ending -iej-y as in doggie or blankie.

:tf;~;~ uses diminutives a lot, and they're not at all limited to "baby"
~?~ like in English. We'll come back to the meaning and use of

~nutves in a moment, but first let's focus on their form. Dimin-

T"tives in Dutch can be made from many words, especially nouns,

142

by adding the suffixes -je, -tje, -pje, -etje or -kje. In all cases, the
gender of a diminutive is het.

The suffix -je is added to words ending in -p, -b, -t, -d, -f, -s, -x, -k,
-g and-ch.
soup

het mes-het mesje

knife
loof

de vork-het vorkje

fork

de taart-het taartje

pie

The suffix -tje is added to words ending in a vowel, or words ending

in a vowel followed by -n, -1 or -r.

r;;;1:t;;;11j;

egg

! de tante-het tantetje

ount

[d; tepel-het l;p;ltje

spoon

!-------~-------------". -. .-

--

-------

ober-het obertje
.. .- ..-." --

--- ~---- - - ~

woiter

wijn-het wijntje

wine

- -- --- ------

- --

de broer-het broertje
'------------------------------

brother

The suffix -pje is added to words ending with -em, -rm, -lm, or a
long vowel followed by -m.
het raam-hetfilam.pje

window

de bezem-het t>eJempje

broom

i de helm-het helmpje

he/met

[-::-- --

..

------------- -- --------

! ~~worm-het wormpje -----------~~~-~

The suffix -etje is added to words ending with a short vowel followed by -n, -1, -r, -m, -ng.
de rekening-het rekeningetje

bil/

de leerling-het leerlingetje

student

de pen-het pennetje

pen

de schol-het scholletje

flounder, plaice
143

ThP suffix -kje is fo111Hl 011 word s tnding with ing loll11 w 111 g"
stressed syll al>lt>. (B111 1101 wo rd-.. <11di11g in ling.) 111 1l1i -, < " "' ' llH g
of -ing is ch angt'd tok, alld jt' is addt d .
de haring-het harinkje

herring

de koning-het koninkje

king

de pudding-het puddinkje

pudding

Some dirninuti vcs hav<'

il

vow(' I d1 a n ge.

het blad-het blaadje

leaf, sheet of paper, magazin e

het pad-het paadje

path

het schip-het scheepje

ship

het glas-het glaasje

g/a ss

het vat-het vaatje

barrel

Now let's look at th e rneanin g of tlw '-> <' fu11n " r Il<' 1 11< >~ 1 >f1.ii;"',11 tlrn
ward meaning of a dirnirllll iv(' i-., I<) i 11di< ;il< '-> 111.illi 1n '. 'Ic 1 1r r11 11 lwt
brood (laaf ofbread) , yo11 g<t het broodjt> (rn//l . ;111 d ~ r <J11 1 df' le1wl
(spoon), you get het lepeltje> ( \11111// s 11u1111. 11 u ~ p1HJ11 )
Another common use of di111 i1111t1\( '" i:-. !11 .., 11 gg1"'1 --111111 k: rld qf
emotional attitude, for exan1plt lm1 111 lc11ld11t..,, 11nijn llh]<,, 111\
[dearjlittlej sister, whethn slw 1s yrn1ll g l'I o r 1101 1 c11 d 1--d .1111 lat
boertje, that redneck, that provi11<rnl 1. " ' irnll\ (mijn a11tuotie . 11 1\
"little" car, when it's really a big< ar l
A third use of diminutives is to chang< " 110 11 r11 u1 1t 111 1ti. 1-- - 1111 t 11 i
into a count noun, meaning that ym1 'n, k1v i11g d r t rt.1111 .1 1111l t111t 1)1
something. Examples of such pairs inclurl<' bier hitrtit' tl1 1er "
glass of beer), hout-- houtje (wood-- u piec e n/ 11 cJu1/ 1. IJ" ij~jt ; ir 1
cream-a serving or portion of icP crewn) .
Dtm.inutives may also alter the 111ea11ing of d 11<H11i. 1 \,111qil1 - 111
clude : spion-spionnetje (spy--husylwdy) . tPl:>foon tt>ldoontj ('
(telephone-telephon e mil) , eten - etentje (food 111111 /c'r f 11 u /\ 'i
Word~ other than nouns can hav(_, diminutivt> 101111". '\ 0 111 1" , c1 11
be formed by adding diminutive endings to n rt<1i11 .i di1 \ 1\ ' '
verbs, numbers, prepositions, and even pronm11b. l 1(1 11 1 .ulw
1

tves you have: klein-kleintje (small-- snwll p ersn11 1 , , 11u 1i1 /

blond---blondje (blond--- blond woman), zuur -. zuurt jt> \ .\ u11, \ 11! u
candy),groen -- groentje (green -rookie) , lief--- liefje \dt'ur ~11't '!
144

heart). From verbs: zitten-zitje (to sit-a set of table and chairs),
spelen-speeltje (to play-a toy), moeten-moetje (to have to-a
shotgun wedding). From numbers: tien-tientje (ten-a ten euro
note), vijftig-vijftigje (fifty-afifty euro note), n-in m'n ntje
(one-on my own). From prepositions: om-ommetje (around-a
walk), toe-toetje (to, as an extra-dessert), uit-uitje (out-an
outing). You can even add diminutive endings to certain pronouns.
From iets (something) you get the adverb ietsje (slightly).

96. READING
Read the following review of a restaurant, which is something that

you might find in a Dutch newspaper. See if you understand what

is written .and try to figure out the meaning of the parts you don't
understand.
Het is donker binnen in restaurant Taj Mahal. Ik eet la carte. Als
voorgerecht neem ik drie flensjes, gevuld met kip in currysaus,
met rundvlees en wortels, en met Indiase groentes. De kok heeft
de vulling een verrassende rijkdom van smaken gegeven. Hij
heeft niet met de Indiase keuken geprutst. Als hoofdgerecht is er
een behoorlijke portie gebakken zeewolf in currysaus. Een hoogtepunt. De vis is mals en de saus is subtiel van smaak. De witte
huiswijn smaakt er geweldig bij. Alle gerechten krijgen een uitgebreide Indiase garnituur in leuke blauwe schaaltjes. Ik heb als
toetje een kleine portie rijstpudding met amandelen en rozijnen
genomen. 4J.s ik mijn hand opsteek om de rekening te vragen,
ligt die er b'inen een minuut! Als ik naar de deur loop, rent een
ober voor me Uit om die te openen. Ik kan de Taj Mahal aanbevelen bij iedereen die van een eerlijke en oorspronkelijke Indiase
keuken houdt.

It is dark inside the Taj Mahal restaurant. I eat la carte. As an appetizer I have three crpes,filled with chicken in curry sauce, with beef
and carrots, and with Indian vegetables. The cook gave the stuffing a
surprising richness offlavors. He didn't play around with Indian cuisine. As a main dish there is quite a portion offried wolffish in curry
sauce. A highpoint. The fish is tender and the sauce has a subtle
flavar. .~ white house wine tast~s wonderful with it. All the courses
get a sumptuous Indian gamish in nice little blue dishes. For dessert
l ordered a smU portion ofrice pudding with almonds and raisins.
When I raise my hand to ask for the bill, it is there within a minute!
When I walked (walk) to the door, a waiter ran (runs) in front of me
145

to open it. f can recommend the Taj Mahal to nnyonP who love, ru1
honest and original Indian cuisine.

gH. CULTURE NOTE 2

The Netherlands has its fair share of holidays and other celebrations, and like anywhere else, food often plays a centra! role. At
Kerstmis or kerst (Christmas), which by the way involves a tree and
a manger, but not presents, families get together to share a meal.
For breakfast there is a kerststol, a sweet loaf with raisins , currants,
nuts and almond paste. A few days later, at Nieuwjaar (New Year 's ),
people enjoy oliebollen (a kind of donuts with raisins). Next comes
Pasen (Easter), when the paashaas (Easter bunny) brings lots of eieren (eggs). In the eastern parts of the country, young people light
big bonfires in the open air. On Koninginnedag (Queen's Day), everybody has the day off to take part in the vrijmarkt ('free market"),
which is like a national yard sale on a tax-free day. People sell all
sorts of items to one another, including a good amount of old junk.
Of course a good amount of food and drink is sold as well! But for
Dutch children, there are really two highpoints each year, his or her
verjaardag (birthday), and Sinterklaas ("Santa Claus"). We'll talk
about Sinterklaas later. Birthdays are a feast for every child. When
the jarige (birthday child) gets up in the morning, the living room is
decorated with slingers (streamers) and even ballonnen (balloons) .
Then come the cadeaus (presents). When children go to school on
their birthdays, they're expected to bring in a load of candies and
give them out to their classmates, who will sing the Dutch birthday song, which starts with the line Lang zal hij/zij leven (may
he/she live long) and ends with the cheer hiep-hiep-hiep-hoera.
At home there will be a verjaardagsfeest (birthday party). Family
and friends will eat a verjaardagstaart (birthday cake) and drink
limonade (orangeade). The choice of family dinner is of course up
to the birthday boy or girl, so it's hard to say what's typical. But the
day-probably ends in a similar way for most children: Falling asleep
surrounded by their presents.

EXERCISES
hoose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
. Y not need to use every word in the list.
146

eet, kunne n, heerlij ke, zouden , lamsbo ut, graag, biertje

,
gerese rveerd
Menee r Boon: Goeden avond,
eten?

we hier wat kunnen

Servee rster: Ja meneer , ik heb voor u een tafel bij het raam
2

---

Menee r Boon: Dank u. Wij willen eerst wat drinken . Hebt

u
voor ons een 3 _ _ _?
Servee rster: Ja meneer . Wilt het dagme nu of 4 _ _ _ u
la carte?
Menee r Boon: We nemen het dagme nu. Ik zie een 5 _ _
_
stampp ot op de kaart staan.

B. Give the past partici ple of each of the following verbs.

1.kom en
2.

zitten

3.proe ven
4.moe ten
5. leggen
6.doen
7. maken
8. wachte n

9. drinke n
io. kiezen
IL

krijgen

12.

nemen

IJ eten
i4. denke n
C. Rewrite the following senten ces in the presen t perfec
t tense.
1.

Ik drink een glas melk.

2.

We wacht en niet lang.

147

3. Altijd zegt u de waarheid.

4. Ze werken niet in Rotterdam.
5. Wil dat kind geen cadeautjes?
6. Ik schrijf een e-mail aan mijn zus.

7. Hij vindt een heel gezellig restaurant.

8. Ik doe een beetje boter in de pan.

D. Give the diminutive of each of the following.

L

schip

2.pen
3. leerling

+tante
5.vork
6. helm
E. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
i.

Today we ate a tasty soup with a lot of carrots.

2. He wants to drink a glass of red wine.

3. They ordered a laad of potatoes.
4. That little girl likes rice pudding with eggs.
5. Didn't you (pl.) get a dessert?

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
See how far you can push your knowledge of Dutch food vocabulary by checking out a recipe on one of these sites: www
.recepten.nl, www.gratisrecept.nl, or www.jannekes.nl.
Find a recipe that seems like something you could tackle, and
read through it. You'll most likely need to look up a few new
words, but that's a great way to expand your vocabulary in context. Write down the new words you find in your Language
Journal. And, if the recipe seems interesting enough, maybe
you can add a dish to your dinner rotation !
148

ANSWER KEY
A. t. zouden;

2.

gereserveerd; 3. biertje; 4- eet ; 5. heerlijke

B. t. gekomen; 2. gezeten; 3. geproefd; 4. gemoeten; 5. gelegd ;

6. gedaan; 7. gemaakt; 8. gewacht; 9. gedronken; 10. gekozen;
u. gekregen; 12. genomen; 13. gegeten ; 14. gedacht

c.i. Ik heb een glas melk gedronken. 2 . We hebben niet lang gewacht.
3. Altijd hebt u de waarheid gezegd. 4. Ze hebben niet in Rotterdam
gewerkt. 5. Heeft dat kind geen cadeautjes gewild? 6. Ik heb een
e-mail aan mijn zus geschreven. 7. Hij heeft een heel gezellig restaurant gevonden. 8. Ik heb een beetje boter in de pan gedaan.
D.i. scheepje;
6. helmpje

2.

pennetje; 3. leerlingetje; 4. tantetje; 5. vorkje;

E.i. Vandaag hebben wij/we een lekkere soep met veel worteltjes
gegeten. 2. Hij wil een glas rode wijn drinken/Hij wil een rood
wijntje drinken. 3. Zij/ze hebben een vracht aardappelen besteld.
4. Dat kleine meisje vindt rijstpudding met eieren lekker/Dat meisje houdt van rijstpudding met eieren. 5. Hebben jullie geen toetje
gekregen?

149

150

LESSO N

10

0 dokter!
Oh, doctor!

It's not likely that this lesson will give you a headache, hut just in
case it does, we'll focus on talking about the human body, health,
and visiting the doctor. So you'll be learning a lot of new and useful vocabulary, as well as some key grammar. We'll return to our
discussion of the present perfect tense, focusing this time on verbs
that take zijn instead of hebben as an auxiliary. We'll also talk about
using modals like kunnen, willen, and moeten in the present perfect, and we'll take a look at reflexive verbs, which sound as though
they might be related toa doctor's visit. But first, let's warm up with
some vocabulary related to the body.

10A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

gezicht; (het; gezichten)

face

mond (de; monden)

mouth

tand (de; tanden)

tooth

oor (het; oren)

ear

voet (de; voeten)

foot

huid (de; huiden)

skin

haar(dejhet;haren)

hair

arm (de; arm_en)

arm

been (het; benen)

leg

borst (de; borsten)

chest, breast

buik (de; bttjpp.)

belly

enkel (de; enke1s}

ankle

hand(de;handen)

hand
151

hoofd (het; hoofde n)

head

keel (de; kelen)

throat

nek (de; nekken )

neck

schoud er (de; schoud ers)

shoulder

vinger (de; vinger s)

finger

wang (de; wange n)

cheek

108.

DIALOGUE

Mr. Jansen is experi encing pain all over, althou gh he 's a

bit con
fused about its source. Listen in as his doctor does her best
to help
him.
Dokter Bernar d: Menee r Jansen !
Menee r Jansen : Dag dokter . Fijn dat u nog even tijd voor
me
heeft.
Dokter Bernar d: Geen dank. Wat scheel t eraan?
Menee r Jansen : Ik heb overal pijn. Ik prik mezelf hier in
mijn arm en dat doet pijn. Ook mijn wang,
mijn nek, mijn buik, mijn benen en enkels
doen pijn.
Dokter Bernar d: Duw die vinger eens op uw hoofd of borst.
Menee r Jansen : Au! Ja, dat doet ook pijn.
Dokter Bernar d: Mag ik even uw hand zien? Ik zie het al.
Uw vinger is gebrok en. U moet hem in het
zieken huis laten spalke n.
Menee r Jansen : Ik ben nog nooit in het zieken huis gewees
t.
Mijn vrouw is wel eens van de ladder
gevallen. Haar schoud er was toen uit de
kom. Zij is naar het zieken huis gegaan .
Maar ik heb toen thuis moete n blijven , met
een griepje op bed. Toen is de buurm an, je
weet wel, die met reuma , meege gaan. En
toen mijn dochte r ...
Dokter Bernar d: Eh ... menee r ...

152

Menee r Jansen : Zij heeft hoge koorts gekreg en.'s Nachts

is mijn vrouw met haar naar de eerste
hulp gerede n. Toen is geblek en dat ze
longon tstekin g had en is ze met antibio tica

weer naar huis gekomen. Ik ben me toen

wel rot geschrokken. Normaal krijg je
niet zomaar een kuur. Moet ik me nog
uitkleden?
Dokter Bernard: Nee meneer. Ik zie uw vinger zo ook wel.
Durft u soms niet naar het ziekenhuis
te gaan? De verwijsbrief ligt klaar bij de
assistente.
Meneer Jansen: Krijg ik geen pijnstillers? Die heb ik altijd al
willen hebben bij keelpijn.
Dokter Bernard: Dan zal ik even in uw keel kijken. Ik zie het
al. Uw keel is een beetje gerriteerd. U moet
een paar daagjes rust nemen. Dan zult u zich
snel beter voelen.
Meneer Jansen: Dank u wel, mevrouw de dokter.

Doctor Bernard: Mr. Jansen!

Mr. Jansen: Hello, Doctor. Glad you have some time for me.
Doctor Bernard: No problem. What's the matter?
Mr. Jansen: I hurt all over. I stick/pinch myself here in my
arm and that hurts. My cheek, my neck, my
belly, my legs, and ank/es hurt, toa.
Doctor Bernard: Press that finger onto your head or chest.
Mr. Jansen: Ow! That hurts, too.
Doctor Bernard: May I see your hand fora moment? I see it
already. Your finger is braken. You have to have
it put in a splint at the hospita/.
Mr. Jansen: J've never been in the hospita!. My wife fel/ off
a ladder once. Her shoulder was dislocated
then. She went to the hospita/. But I had to
stay at home, in bed with a minor flu. That
time our neighbor, you know him, the one with
rheumatism, went to the hospita! with her. And
when my daughter ...
Doctor Bernard: Ahem ... Sir ...

Mr. jOTUJm,:

She had a high fever. At night my wife drove

wtth her to the emergency room. Then it turned

out that she had pneumonia, and she carne
home again with antibiotics. I was scared
153

stijf then. i\'omwlly vou don t get trentPd (fit .,

a cure 'treatment J just like that . Do 1 have to
undress?
Doctor Bernard: No, Sir. J can see vour finger fine this way. Are
you perhaps a bit scared to go to the hospita/?
The referral letter is (!it., lies) ready with the
assistant.

Mr. Jansen : Don 't J get any painkillers ? J've always wanted
to have them when J had (/it., by, with) a sore
throat.
Doctor Bernard: Then Il/ take a look at your throat. 1 can see it.
Your throat is a little irritated. )au have to rest
fora few days. fou 11 fee[ much better soon.
Mr. Jansen: Thank you, Doctor.

10C. VOCABULARY
antibiotica (de)

antibiotics (pl.)

assistent (de; assistenten)

assistant (m.}

assistente (de; assistentes)

assistant (j.)

blijken (gebleken)

to appear, to seem

breken(gebroken)

to break

buurman (de;-mannen)

neighbor (m.)

. dag (de; dagen)

154

day

drukken (gedrukt)

to press, to push

durven (gedurfd)

to dare

duwen (geduwd)

to push

eerste hulp

emergency room

gerriteerd (gerriteerde;
gerriteerder, meest gerriteerd)

irritated

griep (de; -)

flu

hand (de; handen)

hand

hoog (hoge; hoger, hoogst)

high

huisarts (de; -artsen)

family doctor

keelpijn (de;-)

sore throat

koorts (de; koortsen)

f ever

kuur (de; kuren)

cure, treatment

ladder (de; ladders)

ladder

laten (gelaten)

to let

longontsteking (de;
-ontstekingen)

pneumonia

meegaan (meegegaan)

to go with

muisarm (de; -armen)

repetitive stress injury from using a

computer mouse

nooit

never

pijn (de; pijnen)

pa in

pijn doen

to hurt

pijnstiller (de; -stillers)

painkiller

reuma (de;-)

rheumatism

rust (de;-)

rest

schelen (gescheeld)

to be the matter

spalken (gespalkt)

to put in a splint

uit de kom

dislocated

uitkleden (uitgekleed)

to undress

vallen (gevallen)

to fall

verwijsbrief (de; -brieven)

referral letter

zich rot schrikken

to be scared stijf

ziekenhuis (het; -huizen)

hospita[

zomaar

just like that

10D.

KEY PHRASES

Here are som.:e phrases that will be useful when talking about health
issues.
Ik voel me niet lekker.

I don't fee[ very well.

Ik heb hier pijn.

J'm sore here.

Ik voel me duizelig.

I fee[ dizzy.

Ik ben misselijk.

I feel nauseated.
155

Ik zit veel te hoesten en te

niezen.

J'm coughing and sneezing a lot.

Mijn neus is verstopt.

My nose is congested.

Bent u ergens allergisch voor?

Do you have any allergies?

Ik ben allergisch voor

penicilline.

J'm allergie to penicillin.

U hebt hoge koorts.

You have a high Jever.

Zegt u eens A.

Say ah, please.

U hebt een ontsteking aan

uw been.

You 've got swelling/ inflammation

on your /eg.

Ik ben nog nooit geopereerd.

J've never had surgery.

Alleen voor uitwendig gebruik.

Por extemal use only.

Schudden voor het gebruik.

Shake before use.

We hebben een ziekenwagen

nodig.

We need an ambulance.

De dokter heeft vandaag

geen spreekuur.

Today the doctor has no

consultation hours.

10E. CULTURE NOTE 1

Health insurance is compulsory for everyone in the Netherlands,

and this keeps medical costs low. But as a foreigner you might have
to pay cash or show some acceptable proof of insurance. In either
case, you should have your identification documents with you, preferably a passport.
When people are sick, they first go to the huisarts (family doctor), who is a general practitioner. Appointments are made with
the assistant(e) (assistant) for the same or following day. The
assistant(e) may take care of small matters, like testing the blood
sugar level or minor medical procedures. The huisarts then meets
with patients, and may then send them home for rest, prescribe
medicine, or perhaps refer them on to a hospital. For the most common illnesses patients are sent home for rest and won't get (prescription) painkillers or antibiotics.
Prescription medicines are available at the apotheek (pharmacy)
hut over-the-counter medicine such as common painkillers and
156

cough syrup can be purchased at a drogist (drugstore) or somp

times at large supermarkets.
Normally appointments for a consultation or treatment at a hospita! are made at a polikliniek (outpatient clinic). But if you find yourself in need, a huisarts will be able to help you through the system.
For real emergencies there is always the Eerste Hulp (Emergency
Room). If you are ever in need of an ambulance, call 112, which
is the equivalent of 911, providing assistance from the police, fire
department, or EMS.

tof. GRAMMAR
Grmmar point

1: The present perfect with zijn

As you learned in the last lesson, for many verbs, the present perfect is formed with a conjugated form of hebben and a past participle. Hebben is used with most transitive verbs, or verbs that
take a direct object, such as begrijpen (to understand), denken (to
think), hebben (to have), horen (to hear), krijgen (to get), maken (to
do/make), sluiten (to close), verliezen (to loose), vertellen (to teil),
willen (to want), zeggen (to say), zien (to see), and so on. Hebben
is also used with intransitive verbs, or verbs that don't take a direct
object, that express a resting or unchanging state, such as hangen
(to hang/to be hanging), leven (to live), liggen (to /ie/to be lying),
schijnen (to shine, to seem), slapen (to sleep/to be sleeping), staan
(to stand/to be standing), zitten (to sit/to be sitting), and others.
Hij heeft dat al va'ak tegen je gezegd.
He's aften said that to you.

Jullie hebben mij goed gehoord.

You heard me well.
Waarom heb je het niet gemaakt?
Why didn 't you make/repair it?
Ik heb vannacht niet geslapen.
I didn't sleep last night.
We hebben daar lang gezeten.
We were sitting there a long time.
De auto heeft gsteren buiten gestaan.
The car was flit., stood) outside yesterday.

But hebben ~ not the only auxiliary used in the present perfect.
Zijn is also usedc, with intransitive verbs that express some kind of
157

change'. of -,tale, _"ud1 ;1c, gebeur en - -- gebf~urd (l() hr1ppPT1 hrip[Jen

er1 1
gaan- gegaa n (to <JO 9(JrW) . komen - gekom en ((() <()rrte
r rmw,
vallen -geval len (f(J full Julien), worde n - gewor den ( f()
r;et r;r1/
ten. to herom e !Jr>mrrw) . Jt ic, al c,o 11-,1'.d wit h blijve n-geb leven
!t r1
stny- --stayed ) and zijn -- -gewee st (tu IH' hf'ef1) , fJ('. rhap'>
'ilr <ir1 ~EI,
since these dori't i11dical1 a d1 ;mgi at all. Finall y. tlwn'
. <Hl'. friur
special tran-,itiw: wrb-, tliat tak1 zijn in the fHf''>f'. Tll P~~rf,'
. rt : begin nen-b egonn en (to lwqin lwqun), kwijtr aken-k w11tg eraakt
1 lr1
/ose - lost), nadere n --gena derd ( /() r1pprorich - appmf
l( hed1 and
tegenk omen - tegeng ekome n (to meer -m et).
Dat is al vaker gebeur d.
That has happen t'rl mor(' thun ome.

Zij zijn naar Amerik a gegaan .

They went to America.
We zijn thuis gebleven.
We stayed home.
Je bent van de ladder gevalle n.
You feil from the ladder.
Wat is er van hem geword en?
Whatever became of hirn (
Ik ben een eigen zaak begonn en.
J started my (/it., an) own business.

A few verbs may take either auxili.1ry in ttw pn~ '->ent perfect
, h111
with different meanings. With hebbe n th e rneani ng is trm
itiv<',
and with zijn the meani ng is intransi tive and expresses somc
kind
of change of state. Examples are draaie n-ged raaid (to turn
fsume
thingj/ to turn), genez en-ge nezen (to cure/ to recover) , smelte
ngesmo lten (to melt /somet hingj/ to melt) , trouw en-ge trouw
d
(to marry /someo nej/to get married) , veran deren -veran derd
(tu
change /somet hingj/t o change) verme erdere n-verm eerde
rd (to
enlarg e/to grow).
De prieste r heeft Jan en Marie getrou wd.
The priest married fan and Marie.
Jan en Marie zijn gistere n getrou wd.
fan and Marie got married yesterday.
Dat heeft zijn menin g verand erd.
That changed his opinion.
Zijn menin g is niet zomaa r verand erd.
His opinion didn't changed just like that.
158

for verbs of movement , like fietsen (to cycle). lopen (wn/k). and
even springen (jump), you wil! also see both hebben and zijn as
auxiliaries. Here, hebben is used when the focus is on the action.
and zijn is used when the focus is on the "goal" of the rnovenwnt similar to the change-of-state reading explained above. Compare
hebben and zijn in the exa mples below.
Ik heb drie uur gelopen.
/ walked for three hours.
Ik ben naar Amsterdam gelopen.
/ walked to Amsterdam.

Wij hebben gesprongen.

Wejumped.
Wij zijn in het water gesprongen.
We jumped into the water.
Zijn is also used as an auxiliary with pass ives, hut wel comeback
to that later.
Grammar point

:z: Using modals in the present perfect

In Lesson 5 you learned the modal verbs hoeven, kunnen, moeten,

mogen, willen, and zullen. In the present perfect, these rnodals all
take the auxiliary hebben, with the exception of zullen, which has
no participle. Let's look at the others first. If you use a modal on its
own, without any other verb, simply conjugate hebben, and put the
past participle of the modal at the end, as with other verbs. Noti ce
that a second (main) verb is often understood in Dutch.
Dat had niet gehoeven.
That wasn't necessary.
Wij hebben het gekund.
We could (do) it.
Dit heeft altijd gemogen.
This was always allowed.
Ik heb het zo niet gewild.
l didn't want it (to be) this way.

Don't forget that modals are aften followed by one or more verbs in
the infinitive, which come at the end of the clause or sentence.
Jullie hoeven dat niet te doen.
You don't have to do that.
159

We kunnen de fiets repareren.

We can repair the bike.

Moet je op tijd komen?

Do you have to arrive on time?

Dit mag hij altijd doen.

He's always allowed to do THIS.

Ik wil de dokter bellen.

I want to call the doctor.
In the present perfect, things work very similarly with these modals.
Hebben is conjugated, and the other verbs come at the end of the
sentence or clause. But instead of past participia! forms, both the
modal and the main verb are in their infinitive forms. The most
typical word order is subject + hebben + rest of sentence + modal
infinitive +main infinitive.
We hebben de fiets kunnen repareren.
We could/were able to repair the bike.

Heb je op tijd kunnen komen?

Were you able to arrive on time?

Dit heeft hij altijd mogen doen.

He always was allowed to do THIS.

Now let's look at zullen. Zullen in its present form is a lot like English wil/. It's used to indicate a future plan or intention. But keep in
mind that this suggests a strong intention; the most neutra! way to
express the future in Dutch is simply to use the present tense.
Ze zullen haar morgen bezoeken.
They wilt visit her tomorrow.

Ze bezoeken haar morgen.

They're visiting her tomorrow.

As already introduced in Lesson 8, the simple past forms of zullen

are zou in the singular, and zouden in the plural. The past tense
of zullen has a few different uses in Dutch, hut the most common
meanings can be translated as would or should.
Ik zou geen pijnstillers nemen.

1 wouldn't take any painkillers.

Ze zouden naar het ziekenhuis moeten gaan.

They should go to the hospita/.

160

A few verbs other than modals can be followed by infinitives, such

as gaan, blijven, komen, doen, and laten (to let) . We'll carne back
to them later.

&rammar point 3: Reflexive verbs

A reflexive verb is a verb whose object is the same as the subject.
In other words, a subject does something to or for him or herself.
Pronouns that follow reflexive verbs are reflexive pronouns, and in
English they end in -self or -selves. Let's look at Dutch reflexive pronouns now. The forms in parentheses are used to show emphasis
or contrast.

rsuBJECT

REFLEXIVE
PRONOUNS

! PRONOUNS

L-------

"'

;r------- ---- .-

/Jij
!
.-

--=~=-- ;:~

hij, zij/ze, het/'t

- --- --- ---

i WiJIW'e

he, she, it
---------

we

=- === =;~;;1 djlze

_t~~!.. _
___

me (mezelf)

myself

je ezelf)

yourself

u {uzelf)/zich
(zichzelf)

yourself

zich {zichzelf)

himlher/itself

ons {onszelf)

ourse/ves

je ezelf)

yourselves

zich {zichzelf)

themselves

Notice that the reflexive pronouns have the same form in the singular and plural,
except tor the first person (me and ons).

The place of these pronouns in the sentence is the same as that of

objects. The reflexive comes after the subject and the conjugated
verb.
Je moest je schamen!
You ought to be ashamed!
Hij heeft zich ernstig misdragen.
He misbehaved badly.

Ik kan me niets meer van het ongeluk herinneren.

I can't remember anything from the accident any more.
Hebben jullie je/jezelf vandaag al gewassen?
Have you washed yourselves yet today?
Ze hebben zich een bult gelachen.
They were laughing hysterically. (lit., They laughed themselves a bump.)
161

We verheugen ons op uw bezoek.

We 're looking forward to your vis it.

There are two types of reflexive verbs in Dutch, the first of which
are always used with a reflexive pronoun in a particular meaning.
Some examples are: zich bemoeien met (to interfere with), zich
ergeren (to get angry), zich gedragen (to behave), zich generen (to
be embarassed), zich haasten (to hurry), zich herinneren (to remem ber), zich herstellen (to recover), zich misdragen (to misbehave) ,
zich overgeven (to surrender), zich schamen (to be ashamed), zich
verbazen (to be amazed), zich vergissen (to be wrong), zich verheugen op (to look forward to), zich verslapen (to oversleep) , zich
voorstellen (to imagine). Sometimes an intensifier or other phrase
is needed with zich: zich rot schrikken (to be scared stijf), zich een
bult lachen (to laugh hysterically), zich ziek voelen (to fee! il!) .
The second type of reflexive verb is a regular transitive verb, which
may or may not be used reflexively. This is similar to the English
pair to dress someone else and to dress oneself. Here the emphatic
forms with -zelf can be used to stress that the action is reflexive.
Some examples are: zich aankleden (to get dressed), zich bewegen (to move), zichzelf pijn doen (to hurt oneselfJ , zichzelf prikken
(to prick himself), zich(zelf) scheren (to shave oneselfJ, zich(zelf)
snijden (to cut oneself), zich uitkleden (to get undressed) , zichzelf
yerdedigen (to defend oneselfJ, zich verkleden (to change clothes) ,
zich vervelen (to be bored), zich voorstellen (to introduce oneselj),
zich wassen (to wash oneself) , zichzelf zien (to see oneselfJ.
Ik word wakker en ik was mezelf.
I wake up and wash myself.
Hij heeft niet het brood, maar zichzelf gesneden!
He didn't cut the bread, but (rather) himself!
Ik geneer me als ik het antwoord niet weet.
I get embarrassed if I don't know the answer.
Eerst kleedt ze zichzelf aan, en dan kleedt ze het kind aan.
First she dresses herself, and then she dresses the child.

106.

READING

Read the following story by Doctor Bernard. See if you understand

what she is saying and try to figure out the meaning of the parts
you don't understand.
162

vandaag heb ik meneer Jansen op het spreekuur gehad. Dat is

rne ook een rare. Hij heeft zijn vinger gebroken, maar hij had
het zelf niet gemerkt. Ik heb hem naar het ziekenhuis moeten
sturen. Daar zullen ze de vinger wel hebben gespalkt. Hij is nog
nooit in een ziekenhuis geweest. Zijn vrouw is daar wel geweest.
Zij bad zich flink bezeerd aan haar schouder. Volgens mij durft
meneer Jansen niet naar het ziekenhuis te gaan. Hij wilde zichzelf liever pijnstillers voor zijn keel geven, maar ik heb hem rust
voorgeschreven .

Today I had Mr. Jansen during consultatio11 hours ; he really is a

strange one. He broke his finger, hut he did11 't 11otice it himself I had
to send him to the hospita/. There they'fl most likely put the fi11ger in
a splint. He's never been in a hospita/ before. His w1fe /on the other
hand/ has been there. She had seriously injured her shoulder. Irz my
opinion Mr. Jansen is afraid (/it., doesn 't dare) to go to the hospita/.
He rather give himself painkillers for his throat, but I prescribed
rest for him.

10H. CULTURE llOTE 2

The biggest celebration of the year, especially for children, is Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) on the eve of December 6 11i. Sinterklaas is a
bishop who, traditionally, gives presents and candies to all goo<l little boys and girls. (Of course, all little boys and girls are good!) But
unlike Santa Claus, Sinterklaas chooses as a home a warmer climate,
Spain to be precise, and he takes a steamboat to the Netherlands a
few weeks before December 6th. During these weeks, chil<lren put a
shoe beside the fireplace, or, more recently, next to the centra] healing unit. They leave something in their shoe for Sinterklaas' white
horse, which he rides on over the rooftops. But they don't forget
Sinterklaas himself, of course, who gets small gifts like drawings,
and of course a wish list. Sinterklaas comes with his servants in
the night to fill all the shoes with a small present or candy. Around
the 61h of December, every family holds a pakjesavond (present evening). On this evening the bishop himself brings presents, and older
people give presents to one another. Many presents include a witty
poem that teases the recipient, of course in good humor. There is
also a tradition of a surprise (surprise gift) for one person. This
generally holds some kind of joking significance for either the giftgiver or the recipient, perhaps for example an alarm doek made of
colored paper for someone who has trouble being on time.
163

The likely historie figure of Saint Nicholas was a bishop in Myra

111
(now Demre), Turkey, who <lied on December 6 in the year 342. He
wore the traditional bishop's robes of red and white, which probably inspired the American tradition of Santa Claus. Unlike Santa,
though, instead of elves Sinterklaas has human helpers, called
Zwarte Pieten (Black Peters). They are merry and hardworking
men who climb down the chimneys to fill the shoes. The tradition
arose in different times, and more recently a discussion has started
as to whether these "helpers," who are indeed black, are farmer
slaves, and what sort of ethical example this poses for children.
Today, therefore, one can see Pieten of every possible color. Other
accounts of Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten have it that the first
Piet was a devil who was defeated by Saint Nicholas, or that the
Pieten are black because of the soot they encounter in all of those
chimneys. Many children of course focus instead on the gifts that
are brought to them.
Another tradition associated with the season is pepernoten, small
cookies with spices like cinnamon, which children throw in remembrance of the coins that Saint Nicholas gave to poor women who
wanted to marry hut lacked the financial means. Another story is
that the cookies represent the gifts tossed down the chimney by the
helper of the Germanic god Wotan, who rode through the air on his
white horse. Also part of the festivities are chocoladeletters (chocolate letters). All the letters of the alphabet are available, and people
get the letters of the first name. Other holiday sweets include borstplaat (similar to fudge), taai taai (gingerbread) and marsepein
(marzipan) in the shapes of animals and various objects.
Although Santa Claus is beginning to take hold in the Netherlands,
Sinterklaas is still hugely celebrated with the songs and traditions
that go with it. There is even a special mail service, by which letters
addressed to Sinterklaas are read, and replies are written and sent
back to children.

EXERCISES
Choose words from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.

moet, gekund, mezelf, heb, zich, gedaan, kunnen, wil

164

l\1tint : Dokter, ik heb 1

wat er niet got'lfi~- ;;-

bezeerd. Kunt u zien

Dol-..ter : Nee. dat kan ik niet zomaar zien. Welke

klachten hebt u 2
merken?
Patint: Ik :~ ----- al een tijd niet me<:>r zo goed
kunnen lopen.
Dokter : U hebt 4 _____ niet vergist, zie ik : uw been is
gebroken .
Patint: 0 daarom heeft het been zo veel pijn 5 _ _ _ .
Dokter: Ja, maar nu 6
u het been in het
ziekenhuis laten spalken.

B. Use the correct auxiliary in the following present perfect

sentences.
1.

Dat _ _ _ je goed gedaan.

2.

Hij _ _ _ later dokter geworden.

3. Die jongens
+Zij

te laat thuis gekomen.

tot half n op bed gelegen.

5. Waarom _ _ _ jij je zo vergist?

6. Zoiets

ik nooit willen zeggen.

C. Change present tense into the present perfect and the present
perfect into the present tense.
i .

H1j heeft het al eerder willen zeggen.

2.

Ga jij naar de dokter?

3. U hebt zich vergist.

4. Jan fietst in n uur naar Amsterdam .
5. Jullie kurmen het maar niet vergeten.
6. U hebt zich niet hoeven scheren.
D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
1. The

old man feil in the street.

i. Auot Julia could remember her telephone number.

165

3. You (pl.) have to behave in the school.

4. Which language do you (fml.) want to speak?
5. Harry wants to be a doctor.
6. You were able to (use mogen) see that.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Challenge yourself by taking your Dutch further and learning
a bit about health and health insurance in the Netherlands.
Check out the following sites, and see how much you can follow. Try to find a simple page or a very short article, and try to
get the gist of what it says. First go to www.gezondheidsple in
.nl, which is an online guide for health and wellness. Then
go to www.informatieziekt ekosten.nl to find information on
Dutch health insurance. From there you can link to an insurance company like www.agisweb.nl, www.univ.nl, and others.
Of course you won't be able to understand everything, hut see
if you can figure out where to find out about the costs of different plans for individuals and families. Keep a record of any
important new words that you find in your Language Journal,
and don't be afraid to use a dictionary or online reference to
help expand your vocabulary.

ANSWER KEY
A.I. mezelf;
B.I. heb;

2.

2.

kunnen; 3. heb; 4. zich; 5. gedaan; 6. moet

is; 3. zijn;+ heeft/hebben; 5. heb; 6. heb

C.I. Hij wil het al eerder zeggen. 2. Ben jij naar de dokter gegaan?
3 U vergist zich. 4. Jan is in n uur naar Amsterdam gefietst.
5 Jullie hebben het maar niet kunnen vergeten. 6. U hoeft zich niet
te scheren.
D.I. De oude man is op straat gevallen. 2. Tante Julla heeft zich haar
telefoonnummer kunnen herinneren. 3. Jullie moeten je in school
gedragen. 4. Welke taal wilt u spreken? 5. Harry wil dokter worden .
6. U hebt dat mogen zien.
166

LESSO N

11

Computers en internet

Computers and the internet

Welcome to Lesson 11, which is about computers and the internet.
In this lesson you'll learn a lot of useful words that will be familiar
to you, since many computer related terms are borrowed from English. You'll also take your Dutch further by learning some important new grammar, including the present perfect tense with prefix
verbs. You'll also learn about Dutch word order in subordinate or
dependent clauses. But let's start with some hardware!

11A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

beeldscherm (het; -schermen)

display, monitor

computer (de; computers)

computer

desktop (de; desktops)

desktop

flatscreen (de; -screens)

flat screen

geheugen (het; geheugens)

memory

modem (de/het; modems)

modem

laptop (de; laptops)

laptop

muis (de; muizen)

mouse

printer

(d~; printers)

printer .

scanner (de; scanners)

scanner

toetsenbord. (het; -borden)

keyboard

111.

DIAL08UI

Listen in as Mrs. Wit buys a new computer from a very helpful

shop assistant.

167

Verkoper: Dag mevrouw. Kan ik u helpen?

Mevrouw Wit: Ja graag. Ik zoek een computer voor mijn
eigen bedrijf.
Verkoper: En wat eist u van een computer?
Mevrouw Wit: Het hoeft geen laptop te zijn. Bovendien
wil ik dat hij flink wat geheugen heeft. Ook
wil ik een goede tekstverwerker en een snel
fotoprogramma aanschaffen.
Verkoper: En wilt u ook internetten?
Mevrouw Wit: Ja! Ik verkoop meubels via het internet.
Het hebben van een snelle computer is erg
belangrijk. Oh ja, en een goed ergonomisch
toetsenbord zou fijn zijn.
Verkoper: Ik heb hier enkele computers.
Deze heeft een groot geheugen, een
hoge verwerkingssnelheid voor de
grafische software en een draadloze
netwerkverbinding. U heeft uitgelegd
dat u veel met foto's werkt. Ik heb een
mooie aanbieding, waarbij u het grafische
programma voor de helft van de prijs krijgt.
Mevrouw Wit: Dat heb ik vroeger ook al eens aangeschaft;
een prima programma. Maar hoe is het
beeldscherm bij deze computer?
Verkoper: Voor een kleine meerprijs kunt u een
flatscreen kopen. Een draadloze muis
is standaard. Bovendien kunt u snel uw
bestanden uploaden, tenminste als u een
snelle internetverbinding hebt.
Mevrouw Wit: Ja, dat was me wel tegengevallen toen ik
begon. Ik heb nu een heel goede verbinding.
Ik kan downloaden en surfen tegelijk. En de
bestanden die ik download, zijn behoorlijk
groot.
Verkoper: U begrijpt tenminste waar ik het over heb.
I~ h~b hier net een oude dame gehad, aan
~e 1k. alles heb uitgelegd. Vraagt ze of
1k mmzenvallen heb, omdat ik toch ook
muizen verkoop! Nu vraag ik je ...
168

Shop assistant : Hello ma'am. Can J help you?

Mrs. Wit : Yes please. tm looking Jor a computer for my
own business.
Shop assistant: And what are you looking for in a computer
(lit., what do you demand of a computer)?
Mrs. Wit: lt doesn 't have to be a laptop. And (fit., besides)
1 want it to have enough memory. 1 also want
to purchase a good word processor and a Jast
photo program.
Shop assistant: And would you like to use the internet?
Mrs. Wit: Yes! 1 sell furniture over the internet. Having
a Jast computer is very important. Oh yes, and
an ergonomically designed keyboard would be
good.
Shop assistant: I have some computers over here. This one
has a lot of memory, Jast processing speed
for graphics software and a wireless network
connection. You explained that you work a lot
with photos. 1 have a special offer, that you get
the graphics programs for half price.
Mrs. Wit: I purchased this one before, an excellent
program. But how is the monitor that comes
with this computer?
Shop assistant: Fora small extra amount you can get a flat
screen. A wireless mouse is included. Besides,
uploading your files will be Jast, at least when
you have a good internet connection.
Mrs. Wit: Yes, that's what disappointed me in the
beginning. But now I have a very good
connection. I can download and surf the
internet at the same time. And the files I
download are pretty big.
Shop assistant: You at least understand what J'm talking about.
1 just had an old lady [come in] who 1 explained
everything to. Then she asks me whether I have
mousetraps because I sell mice ! 1 teil ya . . . (Zit.,
now 1 ask you ... )

169

11C. VOCABULARY
aanbieding (de; -biedingen)

special offer

aanschaffen (heeft aangeschaft)

to purdwse

afdrukken (heeft afgedrukt)

to print

bedrijf (het; bedrijven)

company

begrijpen (heeft begrepen)

to understand

behoorlijk

pretty, Jairly. rat her

belangrijk (-rijke; -rijker, -rijkst)

important

bestand (het; bestanden)

file

chatten (heeft gechat)

to chat

downloaden (heeft gedownload) to download

draadloos (-loze)

wireless

ci~n

~n

eisen (heeft geist)

to demand

e-mailen (heeft ge-maild)

to e-mail

ergonomisch (ergonomische;
ergonomischer, meest
ergonomisch)

ergonomie

fotoprogramma (het;
-programma's)

photo program

googelen (heeft gegoogeld)

to Google

grafisch (grafische;-)

graphic

hardware (de;-)

hardware

helft (de; helften)

half

helpen (heeft geholpen)

170

to help

internet (het;-)

internet

internetten (heeft genternet)

to use the internet

internetverbinding (de;
-verbindingen)

internet connection

kopiren (heeft gekopieerd)

to copy

meerprijs (de; -prijzen)

extra charge, additional cost

msn'en (heeft ge-msn'd)

to use MSN

muizenval (de; -vallen)

mousetrap

netwerkver binding (de;

-verbindingen)

network connection

prijs (de; prijzen)

price

prima

excellent

printen (heeft geprint)

to print

programm a
(het; programma 's)

program

scannen (heeft gescand)

to scan

sms'en (heeft ge-sms't)

to text message

snel

Jast

software (de; -)

software

standaard

standard

surfen (heeft gesurft)

to surf

tegelijk

at the same time

tegenvallen (is tegengevallen)

to disappoint

tekstverwe rker (de;

-verwerkers)

word processor

tenminste

at least

uitleggen (heeft uitgelegd)

to explain

uploaden (heeft gepload)

to upload

verbinding (de; verbinding en)

connection

verwerking ssnelheid (de;

-snelheden)

processing speed

via

via, over

vragen (heeft gevraagd)

to ask

vroeger

before

waarbij

with which

yahoo ! ,gebruik.en

to use Yahoo !

11D. KEY PHRASES

Here are some key phrases for computers and the internet.

Ik gebruik op het werk een

desktop en thuis een laptop.

I use a desktop at work, and a

laptop at home.
171

Hoe groot is de harde schijf?

How big is the hard drive?

De processorsnelheid is
zestienhonderd gigahertz.

The processor speed is

Zou u mij een goed

antivirusprogramma kunnen
aanraden?

Could you recommend a good

antivirus program to me?

Met deze laserprinter drukt u

vijftig zwart-witafdrukken per
minuut af.

With this laser printer you (can)

print fifty black and white copies
per minute.

Hoeveel kost zo'n inktpatroon?

How much does such a printer

cartridge cost?

De muismat krijgt u bij

aanschaf van deze muis cadeau.

You get the mouse pad as a gift

when you make a purchase.

U wilt het hele moederbord

vervangen?

You want to replace the entire

motherboard?

Waar kan ik mijn mail

checken?

Where can I check my e-mail?

Wat is uw e-mailadres?

What's your e-mail address?

Ik heb mijn foto's nog niet

gepload.

1 haven't uploaded my photos yet.

We hebben net nieuwe

muziek gedownload.

We just downloaded new music.

Zij zitten altijd met elkaar

te sms'en.

They're always text messaging each

other.

De website van dit bedrijf is

erg gebruiksvriendelijk.

This company's website is very

userfriendly.

Deze site heeft schitterende

prikborden en chatrooms.

This site has great bulletin boards

and chat rooms.

11E. CULTURE NOTE

1600

GHz.

Just as in English, a lot of texting abbreviations have developed in

Dutch. Here's an example of a string of text messages, which may
not meet the standards of Dutch teachers, hut which certainly gets
the job clone efficiently.

172

f HLL

Hallo.

Hel/o.

Hoi.

Hi.

Lang niet gesproken.

Long time no speak.

H6T1

Hoe gaat het?

How are you?

MMG

Met mij goed.

l'm fine.

Wat doe je
tegenwoordig?

What are you doing

nowadays?

1--1WRKNITSCTR

Ik werk in de IT-sector.

Hl
i LN6
i
1

/ WDJTGNWRDG!
i

1
1

l'm working in the IT

sector.

llL&K--

Is dat leuk?

/s that good/pleasant?

i GlW

Gaat wel.

/t's okay.

1 a.aKCLLGS?

Leuke collega's?

Nice co/leagues?

Ja. We gaan uit. Ga

je mee?

Yeah. We're going out.

Are you coming with us?

t W8.HLn

Wacht. Hoe laat?

Wait. What time?

i 8BM.

Om acht uur bij mij.

At 8 pm at my place.

r1MTI>AUT? ---

Niet met de auto?

Not by car?

Nee, ik wil geen BOB

zijn.

the BOB*.

1.-.---- -- .. ...

~ ------

riWGNUrf~GJM?

~------ -~- - --------- .

t::m-:-_

No, / don't want to be

*BOB is short for bewust onbeschonken bestuurder (deliberately sober driver), in other
words the designated driver.

11 F.

CiRAM MAR .

Grammar point 1: Present perfect tense

of separable prefix verbs
In Lesson 8 you learned that separable prefixes, or the stressed
particles in verbs like aankomen (to arrive) or uitgaan (to go out) ,
move to the end of the sentence when the verb is conjugated in the
present tense. In the present perfect tense, the prefix and the verb
are joined again, hut they're separated by the ge- that you see in
past participles. So, for example, the past participle of aankomen
is aangekomen, and the past participle of uitgaan is uitgegaan.
These participles are used with a conjugated form of either hebben
or zijn, depending of course on the verb. Here are some examples,
comparing the present tense with the present perfect.
173

Morgen bel ik haar op.

/'Il call her tomorrow.
Gisteren heb ik haar opgebeld.
I called her yesterday.
De senaat keurt het besluit goed.
The senate approves the decision.
De senaat heeft het besluit goedgekeurd.
The senate approved the decision.
Hij steekt de straat over.
He is crossing the street.
Hij is de straat overgestoken.
He crossed the street.
De trein komt om zes uur aan.
The train arrives at six o'clock.
De trein is om zes uur aangekomen.
The train arrived at six o'clock.
Zo'n vergissing komt vaker voor.
Such a mistake happens more aften.
Zo'n vergissing is vaker voorgekomen.
Such a mistake has happened more aften.

In Lesson 10 you learned how to use modals in the present perfect.

The modals come at the end of the sentence, usually before the
main verb, and both the modal and the main verb are in the infinitive form. If the main verb is a separable prefix verb, it too vvill be
in its infinitive form, hut in this case the prefix is written separately.
separated from the main verb by the modal infinitive.

Morgen wil ik haar opbellen.

1 want to call her up tomorrow.

Gisteren had ik haar op willen hellen.

1 had wanted to call her up yesterday.
De senaat moet het besluit goedkeuren.
The senate has to approve the decision.

De senaat heeft het besluit goed moeten keuren.

The senate had to approve the decision.

Hij mag een plaatje uitkiezen.

He is allowed to choose a picture.

Hij heeft een plaatje uit mogen kiezen.

He was allowed to choose a picture.
174

De trein kan om zes uur aankomen.

The train can arrive at six o'clock.
De trein had om zes uur aan kunnen kom en.
The train could have arrived at six 0 'clock.

. d by
d etermme

Notice that in the above examples ' the auxil 1ary

is
the modal, not by the main verb. The modals w1"llen, moeten, mo
all take hebben as the aux111a ry, even 1f t h e mam
gen and
. kunnen
example
last
the
in
as
zijn,
use
normally
verb 1s one that would
ver b s opb e1above with aankomen. In these examples , the m am
the ones that
not
are
len, goedkeuren , uitkiezen and aankomen
use.
to
auxiliary
which
determine
Also notice the use of had in the second and last examples above.
This is the past perfect tense, formed much as in English: ik had
gesproken (I had spoken), we hadden gegeten (we had eaten). Don't
forget about verbs that take zijn as an auxiliary: ik was gekomen (J
had come), ze waren gegaan (they had gone).
By the way, a lot of recent borrowings in Dutch such as downloaden, uploaden or internetten may seem to be prefix verbs, hut
when they're borrowed into Dutch they're "frozen" and inseparable.
So, you would say: ik download( / download) and ik heb gedownload (1 downloaded).
Grmmr point 2: lnseparabl e verbs in the present perfect

In Lesson 8 we touched on inseparable prefix verbs, or verbs in

which the verb rather than the prefix is stressed. Some of the examples you saw were onderwerpe n (to subject), voorkomen (to
prevent), and doorkruisen (to traverse). Some examples of particles
that can be inseparable (hut, remember, are not always) are: aan (on
to), achter (after), door (through), mis (wrong), om (round), onder
(under), over (over), voor (for), and weer (again) . The verbs remain
inseparable in the present perfect tense. The past participle of these
verbs is formed without ge-, and the prefix and verb are fixed together. Take a look at the following pairs of examples in the present
and present perfect tenses.
Zij doorkruisen het hele land.
They travel all over the country.
Zij hebben het hele land doorkruist.
They traveled all over the country.
175

Zo voorkom je ongelukken.
That's how (lit., sa) you prevent accidents.
Zo heb je ongelukken voorkomen.
That's how (!it., sa) you prevented accidents.
Hij overlaadt haar met cadeaus.
He showers her with presents.
Hij heeft haar met cadeaus overladen.
He showered her with presents.
A few other verb prefixes are always inseparable, don't. have main
stress, and don't take ge- in their past participia! form, e1ther. These
prefixes are: be-, er-, ge-, her-, ont- and ver-.
Dat geloof ik onvoorwaardelijk.
I believe THAT unconditionally.
Dat heb ik onvoorwaardelijk geloofd.
I believed THAT unconditionally.
Zoiets overkomt hem maar n keer.
Such a thing happens to him only once.
Zoiets is hem maar n keer overkomen.
Such a thing happened to him only once.
Daarin vergist u zich vreselijk.
That's where you're terribly wrong.
Daarin hebt u zich vreselijk vergist.
That's where you were terribly wrong.
Ze herkent hem niet meer.
She doesn't recognize him anymore.
Ze heeft hem niet meer herkend.
She didn't recognize him anymore.

With modals in the present perfect, both the modal and the inseparable prefix verb will be in the infinitive form, at the end of the
sentence in the familiar word order.
Zo kun je ongelukken voorkomen.

That's how (Zit., so) you can prevent accidents.

Zo heb je ongelukken kunnen voorkomen.

That's how (Zit., so) you could prevent accidents.

Dat wil ik onvoorwaardelijk geloven.
I want to believe THAT unconditionally.

Dat heb ik onvoorwaardelijk willen geloven.

/ wanted to believe THAT unconditionally.
176

&rmmr point J: Word order in dependent clauses

You learned about Dutch word order in Lesson 6. Remember that

the genera! mie is that in simple statements the conjugated verb
is always in the second position. This often looks just like English
word order, with the subject first, then the verb, and then the rest.
But if you start a Dutch sentence with an adverb, question word, or
other phrase, the verb comes next, and then the subject.
Ik ga met de trein naar Groningen.
J'm going to Groningen by train.
Morgen ga ik met de trein naar Groningen.
J'm going to Groningen by train tomorrow.
Hoe ga je naar Groningen?
How are you going to Groningen?

Two exceptions to this "verb-second" rule are yes-no questions and

imperatives.
Ga je met de trein naar Groningen?
Are you going to Groningen by train?
Ga met de trein naar Groningen!
Go to Groningen by train!

Now Iet's talk about another exception to the verb-second rule. Adependent. clause is like a rnini-sentence within a larger sentence. In English, dependent clauses begin with conjunctions such as that, because,
if, whether, and so on. Some examples of dependent clauses are: I said
that J'm studying Dutch. I don't know whether they speak Dutch. J'm
studying Dutch because J'm moving to Amsterdam. Nothing changes
with the word order in English, hut in Dutch, most conjunctions send
the verb to the last place. Let's see some examples with the common
conjunction dat (that). Take a look at the following pairs of sentences.
The first sentence of each pair is simple, without a dependent clause,
and the second one is complex, with one. Notice in the complex sentences that the conjugated verb comes at the end of the clause.
U werkt veel met foto's.
You work a lot with pictures.
U heeft uitgelegd dat u veel met foto's werkt.
You explained that you work a lot with pictures.
Hij leert Nederlands.
He is studying Dutch.
Hij zegt dat hij Nederlands leert.
He says that he's studying Dutch.
177

If the main verh is a separahlc prefix vNh, tlw pr<'ftx nj<>iw,

verb at the end, and thc~ y'r<' writh~n as one word .

th1

De man steekt de weg over.

The man crosses the mud.
Zij ziet dat de man de weg oversteekt.
She sees that the man crosses the road.
Ze gaan vanavond uit.
They 're going out tonight.
Ze zeggen dat ze vanavond uitgaan.
They say that they're going out tonight.

If there's a modal in the dependent clause, both th e modal an d thr

main verb will come at the end. The modal will come fir st, in il':i
conjugated form, and then the main verb will follow, in its infini

tive form.
U heeft uitgelegd dat u veel met foto's mag wer~en. .
You explained that you are allowed to work a lot wzth pzctures.
Ze zeggen dat ze vanavond moeten vertrekken.
They say that they have to leave tonight.

If the dependent clause includes both a modal and a separable prefix verb, the order at the end of the clause will be prefix + conjugated modal + main infinitival verb.

Zij ziet dat de man de weg over wil steken.

She sees that the man wants to cross the road.
Ze zeggen dat ze vanavond uit willen gaan.
They say that they want to go out tonight.

And you can probably imagine that things can get even more complicated in the present perfect tense! The word order without a
separable prefix can be either auxiliary + past participle or past
participle + auxiliary. Both orders are correct, but it's safest to put
the conjugated auxiliary last.
U heeft uitgelegd dat u veel met foto's hebt gewerkt/gewerkt hebt.

You explained that you worked a lot with pictures.

Hij zegt dat hij Nederlands heeft geleerd/geleerd heeft.

He said that he studied Dutch.

If the verb in the dependent clause has a separable prefix, the choice
of word order will determine whether the prefix is attached to the
past participle or not. In this case it's definitely easier on the learner
of Dutch to put the conjugated auxiliary last.
178

Zij ziet dat de man de weg over is gestoken/overgestoken is.

She sees that the man crossed the raad.
Ze zeggen dat ze gisteren uit zijn gegaan/uitgegaan zijn.
They say that they went out yesterday.
And finally, just so you can see how complicated things can get, it's
also possible of course to use a modal in the present perfect tense
in the dependent clause. Without a prefix, the word order will be
conjugated auxiliary + modal (infinitive) + main verb (infinitive).
With a separable prefix, the order is the same, except the prefix
comes first.
U heeft uitgelegd dat u veel met foto's hebt mogen werken.
You explained that you could work a lot with photos.
Zij ziet dat de man de weg over heeft willen steken.
She sees that the man wanted to cross the raad.
Dat is not the only conjunction that sends the verb to the end of
the dependent clause. Other common on es are: als (when, ij), alsof
(as ij), doordat (owing to), hoe (how), hoewel (although), nadat (after), of (whether, ij), omdat (because), opdat (in order that) , terwijl
(as, white), sinds (since), tenzij (unless) , toen (when [in past tenses]),
voor(dat) (before), wanneer (when [in present tenses]), zodat (so
that), and zodra (as soon as).
Ze gaat naar huis omdat ze morgen moet werken.
She's going home because she has to work tomorrow.
Ik weet niet of ze met ons meekomen.
I don't know if/whether they're coming with us.
Ik w:il eten voordat we de film gaan zien.
I want to eat before we go see the film.
We kunnen naar huis gaan als je moe bent.
We can go home if you're tired.

But a few other common conjunctions, which you've already seen,

do not trigger different word order, because they don't start a dependent clause, hut rather a second main sentence. In these cases,
after the conjunction you'll see the subject first, and then the conjugated verb in the second position. They are dus (so, therefore) en
(and), maar (but), of (or), and want (because)*.
*You may have noticed that both want and omdat mean because. These two words

are pretty much interchangeable. However, omdat starts a dependent clause, while
want starts a second main sentence, so the position of the inflected verb varies depending on which one you use.

179

Ze gaat naar huis, want ze moet morgen werken.

She 's going home, bernuse she has to work tomormw.
Ik wil een nieuwe computer kopen, maar ik heb geen geld.
I want to buy a new computer, but I don 't have wiy money.

116. READING
Read the following short piece about a salesperson in a cornpul<'r
store. See how much you can understand from context.

Vorige zaterdag is het druk geweest in de winkel. Er waren veel

kopers, maar nog veel meer kijkers. Ik heb nog een oude bekende
van de middelbare school ontmoet: Jannie Wit. Ze was voor haar
eigen bedrijf op zoek naar een nieuwe computer. Ik heb haar
graag geholpen. Ze is vertrokken met een mooie computer met
flink wat geheugen, een tekstverwerker en een fotoprogramma.
Ze heeft het grafische programma voor de helft van de prijs
gekregen. Dat had ze vroeger ook al eens kunnen aanschaffen en
toen had ze het al een prima programma gevonden.
Last Saturday it was very busy in the shop. There were numy shoppers, but even more browsers (lit., lookers). I met an old acquaintunce
from high school: Jannie Wit. She was lookingfor a new computerfor
her own company. I liked to help her. She left with a nice computer
with quite a lot of memory, a word processor and a photo program.
She got the graphics program for half price. She had already purchased that one once before, and at that time she found it /to hef w1
excellent program.

11H. CULTURE NOTE 2

The Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Kingdom of the Netherlands) is a

constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The head
of state is currently Queen Beatrix, although the power of the monarch is limited by the Dutch Constitution. The executive power is
in the hands of the regering (government), which is usually a coalition cabinet due to the multi-party system of the Netherlands. There
are between twelve and fifteen ministries, with a minister heading
each one, and a number of staatssecretarissen (Assistant Secretar
ies). The ministers are nominated by the politica} parties that wil!
make up the government, and because of the coalition nature of
government, Dutch polities are usually the polities of consensus
180

building and compromise. The head of government is the ministerpresident or ~remier (Pri.~e Minister), who is aften the head of the
fargest party m that coaht1on. The cabinet answers to the StatenGeneraal, the bicameral parliament, which has Iegislative power.
Queen Beatrix has been head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since i980. The crown always passes to the oldest child,
son or daughter, and Queen Beatrix will be succeeded by her oldest
child, Prince Willem-Alexander. Other members of the royal family
assist the queen with her duties. The queen confers weekly with the
Prime Minister, and on a regular basis with the other ministers as
well. She co-signs laws and Royal Decrees, and after the elections of
a new parliament she appoints the person who is charged with the
formation of a new government. Finally, she is the forma! president
of the Raad van State, the government's main important advisory
body and highest court of justice.
The Staten-Generaal includes the Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber/Lower House, similar to the House of Representatives) and the
Eerste Kamer (First Chamber/Upper House, similar to the Senate).
The Tweede Kamer has i50 members who are elected directly by
the people. Every Dutch citizen eighteen years and older has the
right to vote. The Eerste Kamer has 75 members, who are elected
by the members of the provincial parliaments, whose members in
turn are directly elected by the people. Members of both Kamers
are elected fora period of four years. The Tweede Kamer counts
about ten political parties, and its members pass legislation, hold
hearings with the ministers and staatssecretarissen and examine
the government. The Parliament itself can also introduce bills. The
Eerste Kamer has less legislative power than the Tweede Kamer;
it can only reject laws that do not pass constitutional muster.

EXERCISES
A. Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.
zou, gedacht,_ heeft, kopen, neem, rondkijkt, hadden,
inpakken
Verkoper: Ik zie dat u liever even

Klant: Ja, maar ik weet ook dat ik een nieuwe

scanner wil 2 _ __
Verkoper: Welk merk 3 _ _ _ uw interesse?
181

Klant: Ik had aan dat merk 4 __ __ _

Verkoper : Ja, dat is een goede keuze. Zal ik hem voor u
5 _ __ ?
.
Klant: Nee, ik 6 _ _ _ hem zo wel mee.

B. Change each of the following sentences into the present perfect.

i.

Welke printer kies jij uit?

2.

Ze bezoeken de nieuwe computerwinkel.

3. Hij moet dat weten.

4. Hij belooft me dat plechtig.
5. Zij willen zo snel mogelijk naar het station fietsen.
6. Wij denken dat ze op tijd willen komen.

C. Rewrite each of the following sentences, beginning with "Ik zeg

dat ..."
i.

Ik ga naar huis.

2.

De mannen kunnen de tekstverwerker krijgen.

3. Jullie hebben erg vroeg ontbeten.

4. Mijn zus kijkt uit naar de vakantie.
5. Hij is thuis gebleven.
6. Wij zullen hen daar ontmoeten.
D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch. In a few cases a
clue or a literal translation is given to help you.
i.

He says that he wants to bike to Amersfoort.

2.

This printer will cost you (infml.) so much money that you 'll want
to sell it very quickly. (clue:" ... zult willen verkopen.")

3. Where did they meet him for the first time?

+ You (infml.) should be ashamed! (lit., you have to shame yourself.)

5. They say they have to wait for the bus.

182

6. Can you (infml.) keep him from taking my coat? (lit., can you prevent that he'll take my coat?)

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Expand your knowledge of computer terms in Dutch by checking out these websites: www.laatste-computer.nl, www.com
puteridee.nl, and www.dynabyte.nl. You can also take a look
at a consumer site such as www.kieskeurig.nl. Explore the site
that you choose, and see how much of the vocabulary you can
understand. Another great place to challenge yourself is the
Dutch version of wikipedia. Choose a computer-related term,
and search for a relevant article. Don't worry if you can't understand every word, but see if you can get the gist. Of course,
write down the new vocabulary that you discover in your Language Joumal.

AISWER KEY
A.1.

rondkijkt;

2.

kopen; 3. heeft;+ gedacht; 5. inpakken; 6. neem

2 . Ze hebben de nieuwe computerwinkel bezocht. 3. Hij heeft dat moeten weten. 4. Hij heeft me
dat plechtig beloofd. 5. Zij hebben zo snel mogelijk naar het station
willen fietsen. 6. Wij hebben gedacht dat ze op tijd hebben willen
komen.

B. 1. Welke printer heb jij uitgekozen?

C. i . Ik zeg dat ik naar huis ga. 2. Ik zeg dat de mannen de tekstverwerker kunnen krijgen. 3. Ik zeg dat jullie erg vroeg hebben
ontbeten/ontbeten hebben. 4. Ik zeg dat mijn zus naar de vakantie
uitkijkt/ uitkijkt naar de vakantie. 5. Ik zeg dat hij thuis gebleven
is/is thuisgebleven. 6. Ik zeg dat wij hen daar zullen ontmoeten.

D.1. Hij zegt dat hij naar Amersfoort wil fietsen/fietsen wil. 2. Deze
printer zal je zoveel geld kosten, dat je hem heel snel zult willen
verkopen. 3. Waar hebben ze hem voor het eerst ontmoet? 4. Je
moet je schamen. 5. Ze zeggen dat ze op de bus moeten wachten.
6. Kun je voorkomen dat hij mijn jas meeneemt?

183

184

LESSO N

12

Op het postkantoor

At the post office

In Lesson 12 we'll focus on running errands, so you'll learn a lot
of practical vocabulary for talking about your everyday lifo. You'll
also learn a lot of important new grammar in this lesson, including
several different ways of expressing the future, as well as another
way of expressing the past. Finally, you'll learn some very useful
constructions with prepositions and words like er (there) and waar
(where). You'll see that these are similar to something we have in
English, hut they're much more common in Dutch. But first, avocabulary warm-up.

12A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

formulier (het; formulieren)

form

geld (het;-)

money

geldautomaat (de; -automaten)

ATM

luchtpost (de; -)

airmail

pakket (het; pakketten)

package, parcel

pinnen (pinde, heeft gepind)

to use an ATM card (with PIN)

pinpas (de; -passen)

bank/ATM card

postzegel (de; -zegels)

stamp

prioritysticker (de; -stickers)

priority sticker

tll. DIALOGUE
Mr. Van den Boom is taking care of a few things he has to do at the
post office. Listen in as Annet, the postal clerk, helps him out.
185

Meneer Van den Boom : Dag menou," ik wil graag Postzegels kopen
\ or;r brieven naar het buitenland. Dit pakket
wil ik ook graag versturen n ik wil geld
opnemen \'.'a n n~ijn rekening. 0 ja. deze brief
moet weg met \ oorrang.
Annet: Ok. We beginnen met het pakket. Wat is
het adres?
Meneer Van den Boom: Het adres staat er al op. Het pakket mag met
de gewone Post mee , het hoeft ~iet _extra
snel. Het zal daar vast ,.,-el op tqd z11n.
Annet: ;\aar Itali zal dat wel lukken. :\annaal doet
het er niet zo lang over. U kunt het \oor de
zekerheid met luchtpost versturen.
Meneer Van den Boom: Nee, alleen voor deze brief heb ik het geld
ervoor over.
Annet: Dan ga ik er een mooie prioritysticker op
plakken. Dan komt die brief vliegen svlug op
zijn bestemming. En wat wilde u nog meer?
Meneer Van den Boom: Ik wil nog postzegels hebben . Vier voor naar
Amerika en zeven voor naar Europa . Hebt u
nog postzegels met leuke plaatjes?
Annet: We verkopen postzegels niet meer per
stuk, dat kostte ons naar verhouding te
veel. Ze gaan nu per vijf of tien. We hebben
wel leuke plaatjes. Wat dacht u van deze
rookworst of deze met kazen? Je hebt
natuurlijk altijd de koningin.
Meneer Van den Boom: Nee, die met de koningin vind ik saai~ Dan
liever n met die sprankelende prinses
Mxima. Hebt u die niet op een zegel?
Annet: Nee, maar wel haar jongste dochter, een
plaatje. Hoe heette ze ook alweer?
Meneer Van den Boom: Dat weet ik ook niet meer, iets met een A.
Goed, doe mij maar die met dat kind erop:
vijf voor Amerika en tien voor Europa. En
zou ik nog wat geld op kunnen nemen?
Annet: Natuurlijk. Hebt u het formulier ingevuld'?
Meneer Van den Boom: Ach nee, helemaal vergeten. Ik zal wel even
l~ngs de geldautomaat gaan. Hiertegenover
zit nog een bank. Daar ga ik wel pinnen.
186

Annet: Natuurlijk, maar u kunt hier ook met de

pinpas betalen.
Meneer Van den Boom: Dat ga ik nu eerst doen. Het zou wat zijn om
dat te vergeten.

Mr. Van den Boom: Hella ma'am. I'd like to buy some stamps for
letters going abroad. J'd also like to send this
package, and J'd like to withdraw money from
my account. Oh, yes, this letter needs to be sent
by priority mail.
Annet: All right. We'll start with the package. What's
the address?
Mr. Van den Boom: The address is already on it. The package can
go by regular mail, it doesn't have to get there
especially quickly. Jt'll definitely get there on
time.
Annet: That shouldn't be a problem to Jtaly. Normally
it doesn't take very long. You can send it by
airmail just to be sure.
Mr. Van den Boom: No, I am only willing to spend the money for
this letter.
Annet: Then J'm going to put a nice priority sticker on
it. The letter will reach its destination quick as
lightning. What else did you need?
Mr. Van den Boom: I want to buy some stamps. Four to America
and seven to Europe. Do you have any stamps
with nice pictures on them?
Annet: We don't sell stamps separately any more, it
cost us toa much proportionately. They're sold
in fives or tens. But we do have nice pictures.
What do you think of this smoked sausage
or this one with cheeses? There's always the
queen, of course.
Mr. Van den Boom: No, I find the ones with the queen boring! One
with that radiant Princess Mxima would be
better. Don't you have her (Zit., that one) on a
stamp?
Annet: No, but we do have one with her youngest
daqghter. Very pretty. What was her name
again?
187

Mr. Van den Boom: I can't remember it either, something with an

A. Well, give me those with the child on them;
five for America and ten for Europe. And coulrl
I withdraw some money?
Annet: Of course. Did you fill out the form?
Mr. Van den Boom : Oh no, /f've) completely forgotten. f'll go by the
ATM. There 's a bank across the street. J'll get
cash there.
Annet: Of course, hut you can also pay here with your
bank card.
Mr. Van den Boom : J'll do that first now. lt would be something to
forget that.

12C. VOCABULARY

188

adres (het; adressen)

address

ansichtkaart (de; -kaarten)

postcard

bank (de; banken)

bank

(bank)biljet (het; -biljetten)

bank notejbill

bestemming (de;
bestemmingen)

destination

brief (de; brieven)

letter

buitenland (het;-)

abroad

dollar (de; dollars)

dollar

euro (de; euro's)

euro

gewoon (gewone; gewoner,

meest gewoon)

common

helemaal

completely

heten (heette, heeft geheten)

to be called

hypotheek (de; hypotheken)

mortgage

invullen (vulde in, heeft

ingevuld)

to fill out

lening (de; leningen)

loan

lokettist (de; lokettisten)

clerk

lopende rekening (de;

rekeningen)

checking account

tukken (lukte, is gelukt)

to succeed

naar verhouding

comparatively, proportionately

opnemen (nam op, heeft

opgenomen)

to withdraw (money)

overhebben + voor

to be prepared to, to have enough

f or
per stuk

apiece, in singles, separately

plaatje (het; plaatjes)

picture

plakken (plakte, heeft geplakt)

to stick

porto (de/het; porto's/porti)

postage

rente (de; rentes)

interest

rookworst (de; -worsten)

smoked sausage

saai (saaie; saaier, saaist)

boring

spaarrekening (de; -rekeningen) savings account

sprankelend (sprankelende;
sprankelender, meest
sprankelend)

radiant, sparkling

vergeten (vergat, heeft vergeten) to forget

versturen (verstuurde, heeft
verstuurd)

to send (off)

vliegensvlug

as quick as lightning

voor de zekerheid

to be sure

voorrang (de;-)

priority

120. KEY PHRASES

Here are some phrases that will come in handy while running
errands.
Accepteert u creditcards?

Do you accept credit cards?

U kunt hier alleen pinnen of

contant betalen.

You can only use a bank card or

pay cash here.

Kunt u mij vertellen wear de

dichtstbijzijnde gelda,ut-.aat
is?

Can you teil me where the nearest

ATMis?
189

Ik wil graag honderd dollar

wisselen voor euro's.

J'd Like to exchange 1 oo dollars

for euros.

Wat is de wisselkoers?

What's the exchange rater

Hebt u voor mij kleine

bankbiljetten, van twintig, tien
en vijf euro?

Do you have small bills for me uf

twenty, ten, and five Euros?

Goedemiddag, ik wil graag een

bankrekening openen.

Good afternoon, J'd like to open

bank account.

Ik wil mijn rekening opheffen.

J want to close my account

Kan ik deze cheque hier

verzilveren?

May J cash this check here ?

Ik zou deze cheque op mijn

spaarrekening willen storten.

J'd like to deposit this check in my

savings account.

Ik heb mijn creditcard verloren

en wil aangifte doen bij de
politie.

J Lost my credit card and

Mag ik uw identiteitsbewijs
even zien?

May I see your ID?

Ik zou deze ansichtkaarten

naar de VS willen sturen.

td like to mail these postcards to

the US.

12E. CULTURE NOTE

want to notify the police.

You'll find one or more banks and post offices in every Dutch town
and city. This isn't the case in very small villages, though, where instead a mobile bank may come once a week. Dutch post offices are
not only used for the mail. People can open accounts there, too, and
make withdrawals or deposits, just as in a bank. Everyone in the
Netherlands has at least one rekening (account), either a bankrekening at the bank or a girorekening at the post office. Salaries are
typically directly deposited into these accounts. People can pay just
about everywhere with their giropas or bankpas, both of which
are also called a pinpas (bank/PIN card). Creditcards, on the other
hand, are not accepted in some smaller shops and restaurants. But
just as with a cash card, people can use their credit card to withdraw money from a geldautomaat (ATM). And of course there 's
cash, too. In the year 2002 the Dutch guilder was replaced by the
euro as legal currency. The symbol of the euro is , and there are
denominations of 500, 200, 100, 50 20, 10, and 5. The
large bills of 500 and 200 are not accepted by most stores, and
1

190

ri

since they're not very common, many cashiers are suspicious of

counterfeits. There are coins of 1, 2, 5 , 10, 20 and 50 cents, and also
of 1 and 2 euros. The l - and 2 -cent coins are not accepted anymore
and amounts are rounded off to 5 cents. Remember that the comm~
is used in written Dutch in place of the period. If something casts,
for example, 5 euros and 50 cents, the price is written s,50. If
something costs 5 euros the price is written 5,-. The euro is the
currency of many European countries, each of which produce their
own bills and coins, which are legal tender in all euro countries. For
that reason you'll find a lot of euros from other countries in circulation in the Netherlands. To learn more about the euro and to see
images, go to http://eceuropa.eu/euro or www.ecb.intfhome.

12F. GRAMMAR
Grmmar point

1: Simple past tense of regular verbs

You already know that you can express the past in Dutch by using
the present perfect tense, formed with hebben or zijn as an auxiliary
plus the past participle of the main verb. This is the most typical way
of talking about the past, especially in spoken Dutch. But Dutch also
has a simple past tense, and in fact you've already learned the simple
past forms of hebben (had in the singular and hadden in the plural)
and zijn (was in the singular and waren in the plural).
A lot of Dutch verbs have irregular simple past forms, where the
vowel in the verb undergoes a change. You may see them referred
to as "strong" verbs, and they're similar to English verbs such as
take-took, eat-ate, see-saw, speak-spoke, and so on. Generally speaking, the verbs that have irregular past participles, many
of which you learned in Lesson 9, also have irregular simple past
forms . We'll comeback to those verbs in Lesson i3, and there's also
an appendix of strong and irregular verbs at the end of this course.
For now we 'll focus on verbs with regular simple past forms, also
referred to as "weak" verbs.
The simple past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding -te(n)
or -de(n) to the verb stem. The -n is added in the plural farms, and
the choice of -t or -d depends on the final sound of the stem. This is
exactly the same as the difference between -t or -d in a regular past
participle, whi ch you learned in Lesson 9. Verb sterns ending in a
voiceless consonant (-t, -k, -p, -f, -s, or -ch, as in 't kofschip) take the
singular -te and the plural -ten. Verb sterns ending in a voiced consonant or a vowel take the singular -de and the plural -den. For example,
191

werken (to work). whose past participle is gewerkt, has the simple
past forms werkte and werkten, and bellen (to call). whose past participle is gebeld, has the simple past forms belde and belden.

ik werkte

(stem + -te)

I worked/was working

jij/je werkte

(stem+ -te)

you (infml.) worked/

were working

u werkte

(stem +-te)

you (!ml.) workedlwere

working

hij, zij/ze, het/'t

werkte

(stem + -te)

he, she, it worked!was

working

wij/we werkten

(stem + -ten)

we workedlwere
working

jullie werkten

(stem + -ten)

you {infml. pl.) worked/

were working

zij/ze werkten

(stem + -ten)

they workedlwere
working

ik belde

(stem + -de)

I ca//edlwas ca//ing

jij/je belde

(stem + -de)

you {infml.) calledlwere

calling

u belde

(stem + -de)

you (!ml.) ca//edlwere

calling

hij, zij/ze, het/'t belde

(stem + -de)

he, she, it cal/ed/was

calling

wij/we belden

(stem + -den)

we calledlwere calling

(stem + -den)

you (infml. pl.) calledl

) jullie belden

were cal/ing

~---

- - ---

; zij/ze belden

{stem + -den)

they cal/edlwere calling

Just like verbs conjugated in the simple present tense, verbs conjugated in the simple past come in the second position in main
clauses, except in yes-no questions, where they're first. In dependent clauses, they come at the end.
Hij betaalde met een tientje.
He paid with a ten euro note.
Hoorden jullie dat goed?

Did you hear that welf?

192

Ik wilde niet dat zij met <lie zware ta5 sleepte.

I didn 't want lwr to draq that hem'v hwr
Both the presrnt perfect lik heb gewerktl and tht

.;1rnplt

P""t iik

werkte) are u <; ually translat(d a' a :--irnplt p. 1,t t/ wudcdi

111

Ln

glish. But there artJ difltr( JI<t" in tlit> ''av th1\ n u:--td lil !J11t< h.
When you're relating facb in the pa'-t. \ntl WllUld l\pi< .illv lwg 111
with the present perf!'ct . fllr exampl e : Ik ben naar een ronnrt ge
weest.(/ went toa concPrt.). :\fter vou\( i11trod11ced the l<H t .111d
have set the stage. so to sp<"ak. wn1 wnuld < ontirna to dt""ni!H tlw
situation in the simple past. For examplt: A: Ik ben naar et>n con
eert geweest. Dat was erg mooi. Janine Jansen trad daar op. Ze
speelde de "Vier Jaargetijden" van Vivaldi. Uwent to 11 cuncl'rt /t

was really nice. fanine /onsen was perfonnin(I. Slw pln\'t>d \ fruldi .-.
"Four Seasons.'). A listener may join in ''ith tlw ~peal--er ,111d. tor
instance, ask a question . B: Wat voor een jurk had ze aan'? ( i\/wt
kind of dress was she wearinq?) . Tht :-.implt p;1:--! tt ' lht ' would t <Hl
tinue to be used, A: Ze had die blauwe aan (\he hwl thnt lilue <!Tl('
on), until a new fact is introduced in tilt pn"'tj11t perfect. A: ... die
ze ook gedragen heeft bij de premire in Wenen. ( ... the n11t thut
she also wore opening night in ViP11w1.). B: O ja, dat was een schit
terende premire. (Oh yes, that was u splendid ope11i11.11.1. B: Dat
was het zeker. (Jt was indeed.).

One situation where the simple past is always used is alter tlw c <lil
junction toen (when). Note that toen always intrndun-.. ,1 pa ... t whtn
rather than a future or genera! when.
Toen ik in Amsterdam werkte, had ik het heel druk.
M?len J worked in Amsterdam, I was very b11sy.
Hij was niet thuis toen ze belden.
HP wasn't home when they called.

There are a few other situations where the simple past tense is
used. lt is used in storytelling, where again it corresponds to the
simple past in English. But it can also be used to express wishcs,
uncertaint:y or unreal situations such as child's play, it can be used
in polite requests, and it can imply that something that is said isn't
true. You may use a past tense to indicate that what you are saying
did not happen at all. Notice that in these cases, the Dutch simple
past .i.s not translated into English as a past tense.

Er was eens een koning ...

Once upon a time there was a king ... (storytelling)

Als ik toch eens rijk was ...

lfJ>JJly l were rich . .. (a wish)

193

Jij was de koning.

You be the king. You re the king . (make-beli eve/ pretend)
Was u gisteren niet in de schouwbu rg?
. .
iveren 't you at the theater yesterday? (expressin g uncertam ty)
Ik had graag een kilo kaas.
J'd like to have a kilogram of cheese. (polite request)
Ik zou graag een kilo kaas willen hebben.
like to have a kilogram of cheese. (very polite reque st)

1 should

6ramma r point :z: Expressing the future

Just as in English, there are a few different ways of expres sing th e

future in Dutch. First, you can use the simple present ten se, usually along with a time expression such as morgen (tomorrow ) or
volgende week (next week). Or you can use a conjugated form of
zullen, which functions like English will. And third, you can use a
conjugated form of gaan (to go). With both zullen and gaan, th e
main verb comes at the end of the clause in its infinitival form , and
since both of these constructions convey a sense of the future , the
future time expression is optional.
Volgende week studeer ik.
J'm studying next week.
Volgende week zal ik studeren.
I will study next week.

Volgende week ga ik studeren.

/'m going to study next week.

There are however differences in what these future expressions

mean. The first option, with the simple present, is simply a neutra!
statement. The second option, with zullen, is a stronger statemen t,
implying some kind of promise, convictio n, or predictio n. The third
option, with gaan, implies a new start, such that the activity hasn 't
~egun yet. So gaan implies the beginnin g of somethin g. Another
importan t point to keep in mind about the future with gaan is that
you cannot use it with a modal verb.
Ze vertrekke n morgen.
They're leaving tomorrow ./fhey leave tomorrow.

Ze zullen morgen vertrekke n.

They will leave tomorrow.

Zul je op tijd komen?

Will you be/Do you promise to be on time?
194

Dit zal hij altijd doen.

He'll always do that.jlt's predictable that he'll always do that.
Hij gaat volgend jaar studeren.
He's going to (begin to) study next year.

nu

studeren.
Ik ga
['m going to (start to) study now.

Notice that the example in which zullen conveys a prediction is

similar to one use of wil/ in English, in sentences like boys wil! be
boys. Also, don't forget that if you have a modal with zullen, zullen
will come at the end of the clause, usually before the main verb. If
the main verb is a separable prefix verb, then the prefix will come
first, then the modal and at the end the truncated main verb (see
also Grammar points 1 and 3 of Lesson 11).
Ze zullen morgen willen vertrekken.

They wil/ want to leave tomorrow.

Ze zullen morgen terug willen komen.
They wil/ want to come back tomorrow.

Grammar point 3: Er with prepositions

In English, you can sometimes combine there with prepositions in

examples such as therein or thereafter, basically meaning in it/that
or after it/that. Of course, this is a bit of an archaic construction
in English, hut its counterpart in Dutch is very much a part of the
modern language. In Dutch, you'll come across the construction
er+ preposition whenever the preposition is followed by the equivalent of it, referring to non-humans, places, directions, or times. So,
erin rneans in it, eraan means on/at it, erover means about it or
over it, and so on.
Zij wil alleen' koffie met suiker erin.
She only wants coffee with sugar in it.
Mijn ouders en ik hebben erover gesproken.
My parents and I spoke about it.
Hij heeft me ervoor bedankt.
He thanked me for it.

It's also possible to use daar (there) or hier (here) instead of er,
usually to add emphasis. In these cases, the best translation is the
preposition + this or that instead of it. Also notice that it's possible
to separate the particle hier and daar, or er for that matter, from
the preposition, as long as the preposition comes after the particle.
195

Finallv. note that sorne preposition s have a different form in thesf~

construction s: met (with) berornes mee.
Hiermee heeft hij de tv betaald.
He pa id for th e

n -with this.

Daar denk ik anders over.

I thin k differently about that.

In qu estions, er is replaced by waar. Think of Wh erefore art thou

Romeo?. whi ch of course asks why (Jor what [reason]) rath er than
where. Again , notice that waar can be separated from the preposition , and that van has changed to vandaan. In other exa mples it
may show up as vanaf.
Waar kom je vandaan?
Wh ere do you come from?

Waarover hebben jullie gesproken?

What did you speak about?

Waarop heb je je stem gebaseerd?

What did you base your vote on?

Prepositions may al so combine with overal (everywhere). ergen s

(somewhere), and nergens (nowhere). These constru ction s may lw
translated as preposition + everything/ all, pre position + somethinn.
and preposition + nothing, respectively. Noticc th a t in writ ing.
though, the preposition and the particle rernain as se paraf(' words.
Ze stemden overal tegen.
They voted against everythiny.

Hij zocht ergens naar.

He was looking for somethiny.
Ze konden nergens heen.

They couldn't go anywhere.

In the last sentence above, heen is ;rnotlHr l'xarnplt ol a pn'JHlst

tion which has taken a differe nt form . Naar (to) 111 ay show up <1 s
naartoe or heen. Met, van, and naar arC' tlH' 011ly pnpositioris tli;rt
change in this way.

nG. READING
Read the following short passage about sorntont 's <'XIH'r i<ll<t' i11
the post office. See if you can figure out the rneaning 1ro 111 rn11tt \I.
and pay special attention to all of the exarnples witlt l'r ;riul tltlw1
particles with prepositions. They'll be a good dialltngP!
196

Ik ben vanmiddag op het postkantoor geweest. Daar was het

een grote puinhoop. Eerst was er nergens een loketbediende te
vinden. Toen die opeens ergens achter vandaan opdook, stortten
alle klanten zich op hem. Daar was die man niet van gediend.
Hij rende gelijk weer weg. Hij wilde zo snel weg dat hij overal
over struikelde. Hier zie je maar weer dat haastige spoed zelden
goed is. Je zult maar een been breken! Er was ook een klant die
niet wist wat hij wilde. Hij vroeg postzegels met speciale plaatjes,
maar hij wilde geen zegels met rookworst erop. Daar hield hij
niet van. Hij zei alleen postzegels te zullen kopen waar prinses
Mxima op staat. Daar was er helaas geen n meer van. Toen
heeft hij er even over staan nadenken wat hij zou doen, en toen
heeft hij er vijf gekocht met prinses Ariane erop.

/was at the post office this aftemoon. It was a big mess there. First,
there wasn't a clerk to be found anywhere. When all of a sudden one
showed (fit., dove) up, Jrom somewhere in back, all the customers
jumped on him. The man did not like that very much. He ran away
again immediately. He wanted to get away so Jast, that he tripped
over everything. There you have it (lit., you see it here): more haste,
less speed! You'll break a leg! There was also a customer who didn 't
know what he wanted. He asked for stamps with special pictures.
But he didn't want any stamps with smoked sausage on them. He
didn't like that. He said he would only buy stamps with Princess
Mxima on them (fit., on which Princess Mxima stands). Unfortunately there were no more of them. Then he stood a while thinking
about what to do, and then he bought five of them with a picture of
Princess Ariane.

12H. CULTURE NOTE

:z

Waterland

The Netherlands covers about 42,200 km 2 , of which 34,500 km 2 is

land and 7,700 km 2 is water. That means that 18% of the territory
of the Netherlands is actually water. What's more, 40% of the land
is below sea level. Naturally, without an intricate system of dikes
and flood control, this land would be regularly under water. People
began to cultivate the wetlands even during the Middle Ages. Securing their crops meant building dikes and pumping water away.
These were the first polders. Even lakes were pumped empty to
obtain good soil fur agrkulture. That work was accomplished by
windmills, for which Holland is famous. The world's first polder,
197

reclaimed by building dikes around a body of water. '"'as ovt'ISl't'll

by Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater in i61 z. 1t is called Bet'mster,
which is now a World Heritage Site. but it was hardly the last. Tlwrc
are in fact over three thousand polders in the Netherlands. ,rnd the
entire province of Flevoland is made up of polders. With such ge
ography, the Netherlands has had to deal with flooding through
out its history. After a massive tlood in i916, a major project was
begun to construct the Afsluitdijk (Barrier Dam), which separated
the Zuiderzee (South Sea) from the Waddenzee. The water tlwn be
carne a lake, named the IJsselmeer, and parts of it (including Flevoland) were made into polders. Another great deluge in i953 flooded
significant parts of the provinces of Zeeland, Zuid-Holland, and
Noord-Brabant. This flood disaster prompted the Delta Works. a series of storm surge barriers and dams. In i997 the last Delta Work,
the storm surge barrier in the Nieuwe Waterweg was put into commission. But since the Nieuwe Waterweg is an important shipping
channel, the two mega gates are closed only in heavy storms. History and geography have made hydraulic engineering and tlood
control a vital necessity to the Dutch, and as a result people from
all over the world have sought their expertise. Following H urricane
Katrina, an American delegation was dispatched to the Delta Works
to find a solution for the similarly threatened lowlands of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta.
Of course, water has brought more than threat and catastrophe to
the Dutch. The water from the many rivers is purified and used as
drinking water, which is among the best purified drinking water
in the world. The many lakes of the country are used for recre~tional sailing, and the rivers are waterways for cargo boats to dehver goods to the interior. lt is no surprise that the second largest
seaport of the world is in the Netherlands. Enormous quantities of
cargo are shipped through Rotterdam to the rest of Europe and the
rest of the world.

EXERCISES
Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.

op, daarmee, kan, geldautomaat, zich, daar, kunnen, uit

Man: Mevrouw, ik wilde geld pinnen uit de
geldautomaat, maar er komt niets 1

---

198

Vrouw : 0 nee ! Dlt mag niet gebeuren. Ik stuur

rnetetn de loketti st. Hij heeft 2
-- verstand van.
Man : Dank u. 3 __ ___ ik dan op mijn geld
wachten"?
wachten .
Vrouw : Natuurlijk kunt u er even 4
Het probleem is zo voorbij. - -Man : Wat haalt de loketti st nu uit de 5 _ __ ?
Vrouw: Ik denk dat het uw strippenkaart is. 6 _ _ _
zult u echt niet kunnen pinnen!

B. Complete each sentence with the simple past of the verb given in
parentheses. Each verb is regular.
i.

Dat

je goed! (horen)

2.

Hij

het hele programma. (downloaden)

de mooie plaatjes. (printen)

3- Die meisjes

4. Hoe
5. Waarom

jij die heerlijke taart? (maken)

zij (pl.) niet thuis te komen ? (durven)

6. Meneer Boon ___ nog een karaf rode wijn. (bestellen)

C. Change the tense of each of the following sentences from the
present into the future, or from the future in to the present. Use
zullen, or delete it.
L

Hij ziet het eerder.

2.

Waar zullen we gaan eten?

J. Jullie mogen het niet vergeten.

4. Staat zij onder de lantaarnpaal?

5. Jan zal vandaag naar Den Haag rijden.
D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
1.

He believed that he still had some money in his account. (simple

past)

2.

In that case you (pl.) will have to walk to the bus stop and read there
(lit., on it) what time the bus will arrive. (future with zullen)
199

3. You (infml. sg.) have to teil me why you wanted (present perfect) to
leave today.
4. He studied Dutch language in Utrecht. (simple past)
5. They wanted beef as a main course and a glass of red wine with it.
(simple past)
6. You (fml.) talked to the clerk. What did you hear from him ? (present perfect)

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Since banking is often apart of running errands, see how much
you can understand about Dutch banks by visiting a website
like www.triodos.nl, www.ing.nl, or www.postbank.nl. Try to
find out what you need to open an account or get a mortgage
in the Netherlands. Of course you won't be able to understand
everything, hut hunt around for a small piece of text and do
your best to get the gist. If you look up new vocabulary, be sure
to write it down in your Language Journal.

ANSWER KEY
A.i. uit;

2.

daar; 3. kan; 4. op; 5. geldautomaat; 6. daarmee

B. L hoorde;

2.

downloadde; 3. printten; 4. maakte; 5. durfden;

6. bestelde
C. 1. Hij zal het eerder zien. 2. Waar gaan we eten ? 3. Jullie zullen het
niet mogen vergeten.+ Zal zij onder de lantaarnpaal staan ? 5. Jan
rijdt vandaag naar Den Haag.

D.i. Hij geloofde dat hij nog wat geld op zijn rekening had. 2. Dan/In
dat geval zullen jullie naar de bushalte moeten lopen en da arop
lezen hoe laat de bus zal komen. 3. Jij moet mij zeggen waarom jij
vandaag hebt willen vertrekken. 4. Hij studeerde Nederlandse taal
in Utrecht. 5. Zij/Ze wilden rundvlees als hoofdgerecht en een glas
rode wijn erbij. 6. U hebt met de lokettist gepraat. Wat hebt u va n
hem gehoord?
200

LESSO N

13

Op het werk
At work

Welcome to Lesson i 3, which is all about work and employment.

That means that you 'll learn a lot of useful vocabulary for talking
about your job and various professions. You'll also learn more about
expressing the past by focusing on irregular, or "strong," verbs in
the simple past tense. And since by now you 've learned a good deal
of Dutch, you'll be able to form more complex sentences with relative clauses, for example the job that I got is very interesting. Finally,
we'll take a closer look at how to use different pronouns. But first ,
we'll begin with a vocabulary warm-up.

13A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

baas(de;bazen)

boss

cao (de; cao's)

collective labor agreement

directeur (de; directeuren/

directeurs)

manager

directie (de; directies)

management

ontslaan (ontsloeg, heeft

ontslagen)

to lay off/ to fire

personeelschef (de; -chefs)

personnel manager

vacature (de; vacatures)

vacancy, job opening

werkgever (de; -gevers)

employer

werknemer (de; -nemers)

employee

201

138. DIALOGUE
Today Bert is starting a new job. Listen in as Angeli.que welco_me~
him and shows him around. Since he 's new on the JOb, Angelique
decides to have a bit of fun.

Angelique: Welkom Bert. Daar rechts is de afdeling

waarbij jij komt te werken.
Bert: Dank je. Ik heb er zin in. Waarheen moet ik
lopen om mijn jas op te hangen?
Angelique: Daarheen, naast de deur is de kapstok.
Zullen we samen rondlopen?
Bert: Dat zou fijn zijn. Het is lastig om in een
gebouw dat je niet kent de weg te vinden.
Werk jij op dezelfde afdeling?
Angelique: Nee, ik ben secretaresse bij P&O: personeel
en organisatie.
Bert: Ja, dat begrijp ik. Waarvoor is het pasje dat
ik gekregen heb?
Angelique: Dat is om straks het hek uit te kunnen. Als
je lang doorwerkt, is het hek waardoor je
naar buiten moet al op slot.
Bert: Dan ben ik blij daarmee! Ik zal zuinig zijn
op dit pasje, dat is wel zeker!
Angelique: Hier zijn de lift en de trap die naar de
kantine voeren. De kantine is op de tweede
etage. Waarvoor heb je gestudeerd?
Bert: Ik ben informaticus. Ik wist niet zo goed,
wat ik wilde worden en computers vond ik
wel leuk.
Angelique: Dat was geluk, dat je een passende baan
vond. Ik was bezig om trapezewerkster te
worden, maar dat ging niet. In mijn vrije tijd
zwaai ik hier soms aan de lamp.
Bert: Wat leuk! Waarom wou jij trapezewerkster
worden?
Angelique: Ik wilde niet zo'n burgerlijk bestaan. En ik
moet zeggen dat P&O meer van het circus
wegheeft dan ik dacht.
Bert: Ach en netwerkbeheer, dat is net zoiets
als leeuwen temmen. Heb je w~l eens naar
mensen gekeken als het netwerk plat ligt?
202

Angelique: Of wat dacht je dat mensen deden als er

iets misgaat met het salaris? Alleen de kooi
ontbreekt dan. Ah, we zijn bij je collega's
aangekomen. Fijne dag vandaag!
Bert: Dank je, dat zal wel lukken.

Angelique: Welcome Bert. Over there on the right is the

department where you'll be working.
Bert: Thank you. J'm looking forward to it. Where do
I have to go to hang up my coat?
Angelique: The coat rack is over there, next to the door.
Should we take a walk around together?
Bert: That would be nice. !t's hard to find your way
around in a building you don't know. Do you
work in the same department?
Angelique: No J'm a secretary in HR, Human Resources.
Bert: Yes, I understand. What's the pass that I gat
for?
Angelique: !t's for getting out the gate. IJ you work late,
the gate that you have go through to get out
will be locked.
Bert: In that case J'm happy to have it (lit., with it) !
J'll take good care of this pass, that's for sure !
Angelique: Here are the elevators and the stairs that will
take you to the cafeteria. The cafeteria is on
the third f/.oor. What did you study?
Bert: I studied computer science. I didn't know
what I wanted to do (lit., become) and I liked
computers.
Angelique: You were lucky then, to find a suitable job.
I was working to become a trapeze artist,
but that didn't pan out. In my free time I
sometimes swing on the lamp here.
Eert: Nice J Why did you want to be a trapeze artist?
Angelique: l didn't want such an ordinary life. And I have
to say that HR is more similar to the circus
than l thought.
203

Bert: Yes and network administration is just like

ta,:iing lions. Have you ever watched people
when the system is down ?
Angelique: Or what do you think people do when there 's
a problem with their salary? Only the cage is
missing. Ah, here we are at your colleague 's.
Enjoy your day!
Bert: Thanks, it'll go welf.

13C. VOCABULARY

204

afdeling (de; afdelingen)

department

baan (de; banen)

job

bestaan (het;-)

existence, life

burgerlijk (burgerlijke;
burgerlijker, burgerlijkst)

middle-class, bourgeois, civil,

ordinary

circus (het; circussen)

circus

doorwerken (werkte door,

heeft doorgewerkt)

to keep on working

hek (het; hekken)

gate, fence

informatica (de)

computer science

kapstok (de; -stokken)

hat stand, hat rack

kijken (keek, heeft gekeken)

to watch, to look

kooi (de; kooien)

cage

lastig (lastige; lastiger, lastigst)

difficult

leeuw (de; leeuwen)

/ion

lift (de; liften)

elevator

misgaan (ging mis, is

misgegaan)

to go wrong

naar buiten

outside (direction to)

netwerk (het; -werken)

network

netwerkbeheer (het)

network administration

ophangen (hing op, heeft

opgehangen)

to hang up

op slot

locked

op slot doen (deed op slot, heeft to loek

op slot gedaan)
passend (passende; passender,
passendst/meest passend)

suitable, appropriate

p&O (personeel en organisatie)

(de)

HR, human resources

platliggen (lag plat, lagen plat,

heeft platgelegen)

to be down (not working)

rondlopen (liep rond, heeft/

is rondgelopen)

to walk around, to take a walk

around

salaris (het; salarissen)

salary

secretaresse (de; secretaresses/

secretaressen)

secretary (f.)

secretaris (de; secretarissen)

secretary (m. or f)

temmen (temde, heeft getemd)

to tame

zeker (zekere; zekerder, zekerst) certain

zuinig (zuinige; zuiniger,
zuinigst)

economical, thrifty

130. KEY PHRASES

Here are some expressions that will be useful when speaking about
work.
Wat doe je voor de kost?

What do you do fora living?

Ik ben verkoper/bediende/
bureauchef.

I'm a salesperson/assistant/office
manager.

Ik ben dokte,r/advocaat/
verpleegster/leraar.

/'ma doctorjl.awyer/nurse/teacher.

Ik ben politieman/
politievrouw/ambten aar.

/'ma policeman/policewoman/civil
servant.

Ik hen schrijver/artiest/
musicus/acteur~

/'ma writer/artist/musician/actor.

Ik hen werkloos.

I'm unemployed.

Ik hen met pensioen.

J'm retired.

Wat doet hij voor zijn beroep?

What is his occupation?

205

Hij verdient de kost met viool

spelen.

He earns a living by playing the

violin.

Laten we een afspraak maken.

Let's set up an appointment.

Wilt u deze vergadering

notuleren?

Do you want to take notes on this

meeting?

Waar is de koffieautomaat?

Where is the coffee machine?

Waar is het kopieerapparaat/

de fax?

Where is the photocopier/fax

machine?

In mijn kantoor staan een

bureau, een computer, een
telefoon en een archiefkast.

In my office there's a desk, a

computer, a telephone, and a filing
cabinet.

We moeten dit rapport vr

morgen lezen.

We have to read this report by

tomorrow.

Zij heeft een sollicitatiegesprek. She has a job interview.

Mag ik haar cv bekijken?

Can J see her resume/ CV?

iemand in dienst nemen

to hire or bring someone on

personeel aannemen

to hire employees

U bent ontslagen!

You're fired!

13E. CULTURE NOTE 1

In the Netherlands all people are equal, but just like anywhere else
the work place is nota complete democracy. Employees are expected
to do their work on time, even if the boss frames things as a polite
and friendly request. So if a boss says: Zou je het verkooprapport
kunnen afmaken en het morgen vr tien uur op mijn bureau
kunnen leggen? (Could you finish the sa/es report and have i t on my
desk by 10:00 tomorrow?), an employee will understand this as an
order. Of course, if this is absolutely impossible, the employee will
speak up, and the negotiations will start. In general, the atmosphere
of the Dutch workplace is relaxed. People address one another as jij
and they are on a first name basis. Often they form friendships in
the office. Qualities such as punctuality, diligence, and loyalty are
highly esteemed. People don't change jobs very aften, soit may be
the case that a person works forty or even fifty years in the same
place. In fact, it isn't easy to fire a regular employee; this aften requires going before a judge, and a discharge will probably involve
some kind of monetary compensation for the employee.
206

A spirit of negotiation is perhaps not so surprising, since the Dutch

have always had to negotiate in order to maintain a balance of
power, first between the provinces, and later between European
states. Nowadays this is referred to as the poldermodel (consensus policy). You'll see the poldermodel at work everywhere in the
Netherlands. Each Dutch government is formed after negotiations
between two or more politica! parties. That has been necessary because there has never been, and probably will never be, a single
party with enough seats in Parliament to govern on its own. The
same spirit of negotiation is seen in Dutch employment. Employers
and employees, represented by their vakbonden (unions), negotiate on terms of employment and secundaire arbeidsvoorwaarden
(fringe bene.fits), until they reach an agreement, called a cao, a collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst (collective labor agreement). I t's
also possible for an employee to negotiate his or her own iao, or
individuele arbeidsovereenkomst (individual labor agreement).

13F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point 1: Simple past of irregular verbs

You learned the simple past of regular or "weak" verbs in Lesson 12.
Now let's turn to irregular or "strong" verbs in the simple past.
These verbs are typically characterized by a vowel change in the
verb stem, much like English took, saw, or ate. There are no singular
endings added to the stem, hut the plurals end in -en. This often affects spelling, to preserve the length of the vowel. There are some
regularities and patterns, hut the best policy is simply to practice
the farms until you've memorized them, because some are unpredictable. But, you'Il notice that the patterns that you learned for
irregular past participles, in Lesson 9, show up again with simple
past farms. To remind you, the past participles are included in the
groups below. The four farms given are: infinitive-simple past
singular/simple past plural-past participle.
Remember that there are quite a lot verbs with the vowel change
ij> ee.
begrijpen-begreep/begrepenbegrepen

to understand-understoodunderstood

blijven-bleef/bleven-gebleven

to stay-stayed-stayed

kijken-keek/keken-gekeken

to /ook-looked-looked
207

krijgen-kreeg/kregen-gekregen

to get-got-gotten

ontbijten-ontbeet/ontbetenontbeten

to have breakfast-had breakfasthad breakfast

schijnen-scheen/schenengeschenen

to seemlshine-seemedlshoneseemedlshone

schrijven-schreef/schrevengeschreven

to write-wrote-written

Two other common changes are ie

>

oo and ui

>

oo.

bieden-bood/boden-geboden

to offer-offered-offered

kiezen-koos/kozen-gekozen

to choose-chose-chosen

vliegen-vloog/vlogen-gevlogen

to fly-f/ew-f/own

buigen-boog/bogen-gebogen

to bow-bowed-bowed

ruiken-rook/roken-geroken

to sme/1-smelled-smelled

sluiten-sloot/sloten-gesloten

to close-closed-closed

There are also some common verbs with th e chan ge i

>

beginnen-begon/begonnenbegonnen

to begin-began-begun

binden-bond/bonden-gebonden

to bind-bound-bound

drinken-dronk/dronken-gedronken

to drink-drank-drunk

vinden-vond/vonden-gevonden

to find-found-found

Another change is e

>

o.

o.

vechten-vocht/vochten-gevochten

to fight-fought-fought

zenden-zond/zonden-gezonden

to send-sent-sent

zwemmen-zwom/zwommengezwommen

swim-swam-swum

There's also a pattern of verbs that have ee in the infinitive, a/aa in

the simple past, and oo in the past participle.
: nemen-nam/namen-genomen

to take-taak-taken

1 ~p.;ken-sprak/spraken-gesproken

to speak-spoke-spoken

t_ __ "".

208

"~- -

""

"

b.- ~~:!~-~. -braken-geb'.oken

to break-broke-broken

ttelen-stallstalen-gestolen

to stea/-stole-stolen

.,,.

__------"

-. " . ~ . ~-

.-

Another similar pattern has ee or i in the infinitive, a/aa in the

simple past, and ee in the past participle.
pven-gaf/gaven-gegeven
eten-at/aten-gegeten

to eat-ate-eaten

lezen-las/lazen-gelezen

to read-read-read

vergeten-vergat/vergaten-vergeten

to forget-forgot-forgotten

;;;t;~-zat/zaten-gezeten
j

to give-gave-given

Ugge~-lag/lagen-gelegen

!__________ - --

to sit-sat-sat
to lie-lay-lain

And there are a few other changes that don't necessarily fit into a
pattern.
brengen-bracht/brachten-gebracht to bring-brought-brought
denken-dacht/dachten-gedacht

to think-thought-thought

doen-deed/deden-gedaan

to do-did-done

pan-ging/gingen-gegaan

to go-went-gone

hangen-hing/hingen-gehangen

to hang-hung-hung

helpen-hielp/hielpen-geholpen

to help-helped-helped

l --1

l - -----

- ---

' heten-heette/heetten-geheten

to be co/led-was co/led-been
co/led

houden-hield/hielden-gehoude n

to hold-held-held

komen-kwam/kwamen-gekomen

to come-came-come

kopen-kocht/ kochten- gekocht

to buy-bought-bought

laten-liet/lieten-gelaten

to let-let-let

lopen-liep/liepen-gelopen

to walk-walked-walked

roepen-riep/riepen-geroepen

to ca/1-called-colled

slaan-sloeg/sloegen-geslagen

to hit-hit-hit

slapen-sliep/sliepen-geslapen

to sleep-slept-slept

staan-stond/stonden-gestaan

to stand-stood-stood

sterven-stierf/stierven-gestorven

to die-died-died

vallen-viel/vielen-gevallen

to fall-fe/1-fal/en

vragen-vroeg/vroegen-gevraagd

to ask-asked-asked

weten-wist/wisten-geweten

to know-knew-known
209

worden-w erd/werd en-gewo rden

to become- became- become

zeggen-zei/zeiden-gezegd

to say-said -said

zien-zag /zagen-g ezien

to see-saw -seen

in the past
Here are examp le sentences w1.th so me of the above verbs
.
l
.
h
d
order
Notice
that
m
comp
ex
tense Pay attent10n
to t e wor

d sentence~ that begin with a depende nt clause (toen .. .' ~oohr at ... d,
etc ) the main verb of the sentence (zeid e n ' las ' etc .) is. m t e. secon
.
.'.
d h
b. t (
ze etc.) are in the th1rd posltlon. ln
d
Posltlon ' an t e su 1ec s we,l '
b
the dependent clauses themse ves, t houg h , the tense ver (zagen
slapen, etc.) is at the end.
1

Toen we hem zagen, zeiden we "dag."

When we saw him, we said "heila."
Voordat ze ging slapen, las ze nog een paar bladzijd en.
Before she went to sleep, she read a few pages.
Zij begrepe n meteen dat ze gevange n zaten.
They understood immedia tely that they were trapped.
Ik liet ze maar praten en liep weg.
I let them talk and walked away.
Toen hij dat kocht, deed zij hetzelfd e.
When he bought that, she did the same.

Grammar point 2: Relative clauses

In Lesson 11, you learned about depende nt clauses, which are like
mini-sentences inside a larger sentence . A relative clause is just a
special kind of depende nt clause that gives more informa tion about
a particul ar noun in a sentence . Relative clauses are usually introduced by relative pronoun s, which in English are words like that,
who, which, and so on. So example s of relative clauses in English
are: The language that J'm studying is Dutch. The IJsselmeer, which
is a big fake, is enclosed by the Afsluitd ijk. In Dutch, if a relative
dause refers toa de-word, the relative pronou n is die, and if it refers to a het-wor d, the relative pronou n is dat. Just like the dependent clauses covered in Lesson 11, relative clauses have verb-last
word order.
De mensen die morgen willen werken, krijgen een bonus.
The people who want to work tomorrow will get a bonus.

Het meisje dat wij zagen, was niet Sofie.

The girl we saw wasn't Sofie.
210

Jantje, die gisteren jarig was, heeft in de klas getrakteerd.

fantje, who had his birthday yesterday, brought treats to class.
De brief die ik gestuurd heb, is niet aangekomen.
The letter I sent didn't arrive.
Het paard dat was gevallen, moest naar de veearts.
The horse that Jelf had to go to the veterinarian.
Remember that proper names of people are always considered dewords, even if they are diminutives. That's why the third example
above, with Jantje, uses die instead of dat. Also keep in mind that
in English, you can drop a relative pronoun like that or who, while
in Dutch, the use of die and dat is obligatory.
There's another type of relative clause, technically called a "free
relative," that doesn't refer back to anyone or anything specifically.
These often start with words like whoever, whatever, sjhe who, or
what in English. In Dutch, they begin with wie if they mean aperson, and wat in other cases.
Wie de schoen past, trekke hem aan.
IJ the shoe fits, wear it. (fit., Whoever the shoe fits, pulls it on.)
Ik geloof niet wat je zegt.
I don't believe what you're saying.
It's also possible to use a preposition with a relative pronoun, as in
with whom or before which. If the relative clause refers to a person,
use the preposition followed by wie. If the relative clause refers to
an animal or an inanimate object, use waar with the preposition
attached to it, much like the er constructions you learned in Lesson
i2. Note that many Dutch speakers use waar+ preposition to refer
to people, too.
De man van wie het huis was, vroeg veel huur.
The man who owned the house was asking a high rent.
Het meisje van wie ik hield, heette Trees.
The girl J loved was called Trees.
Zij wilde alleen koffie waarin suiker zat./Zij wilde alleen koffie
waar suiker in zat.
She only wanted coffee with sugar in it (Ut., in which there was/sat
sugar).
Dat was iets waarover ik anders dacht./Dat was iets waar ik anders
over dacht.
That was something about which I thought differently.
211

As shown in the last example, waar can be separated trom t~w rmp
osition. But as a student of Dutch, it's prohably elsier to keep waar
and the preposition together.
Grammar point 3: More on pronouns

As you know, all Dutch nouns be long to one of two gram mat ic al wn
ders, neuter (het-words) and non-neuter (de-words). Earlier in the
history of Dutch, there were actually three genders: masculine, ferni
nine, and neuter. The choice of the pronoun meaning it depended on
the gender of the noun-hij for masculine nouns, zij for feminine
nouns, and het for neuter nouns. These three pronouns still exist in
modern Dutch, but with only two grammatical genders, you rnay be
confused as to which pronoun to use to refer to different nouns. Ac
cording to the Dutch and Flemish governments, the three pronouns
are supposed to be used in writing, especially in schools and acad
emies and in civil service, to refer to nouns, as though nmrns still feil
into one of three genders. But in spoken Dutch, pronoun usage ba si
cally follows the rules summarized in the table below, dependent
upon the referent or antecedent of the pronoun.

REFERENT

SUBJECT

OBJECT

POSSESSIVE

female person

zij/ze (sg.)

haar/d'r

haar/d'r

male or
unknown person

hij

hem/'m

zijn/z'n

group of people

zij/ze (pl.)

hen

hun

other de-word

hij

hem/'m

zijn/z'n, ervan

other het-word

het/'t

het/'t

zijn/z'n, ervan

As you can see, with people the choice is between zij/ze (she) and
hij (he). If the gender of the person isn't known, hij is used. lf an animal is clearly female, for example with the suffix -in or in the case
of a pet or domesticated animal or a wild anima! giving birth, zij/ze
will be used. For inanimate nouns, hij (it) is used for de-words, and
het (it) is used for het words.
Als dat meisje dokter wil worden, moet zij eerst haar examen halt:>n.
If that girl wants to be a doctor, she has to pass her examirrntion fmt
De kat brak zijn staart. Ik hielp hem.
The cat broke its tai/. I helped him.
212

t
.
Dat glas is .niet
. goed. Het heeft een barst 111 z11n voe .
huse.
its
in
crack.
a
has
lt
good.
t
That glass 1sn
De boot kwam eraan. Ik zag hem al.
The boat was coming. l saw it.
De politie liet de man vrij. Ze trokken hun aanklacht in.

1 " .
The police released the man Thev witli<lr"\"
< , 1 1r IT <ICCllSll / /011.

Notice in the fir~t example above that you always may refrr to a
female person with the pronouns zij/ze and haar, even wlwn the
word its~lf is a diminutive (het meisje) or a het-word (het kind). It
you don t know the natura! gender of het kind, you may use hij.
In the plural, there aren't so many distinctions rnad('. Basically it
comes down to whether the referents are people or not.

REFERENT
; persons
other cases

SUBJECT

OBJECT

POSS

zij/ze

hen

hun

ze [not zij]

ze

hun/ervan

Die mensen gaan naar huis. Zij hebben hun werk gedaan.
Those people are going home. They did their work..
De stenen zijn zwaar. Wees voorzichtig als je ze draagt!
The stones are heavy. Be careful when you carry them!

'JG. READING
Read the following short passage, written by sorneone in HR ahout
Bert's first day on the job. See if you can pick out all of the irregular
verbs in the past tense.
Vandaag is er een nieuwe jongen gekomen. Hij heet Bert. Hij
heeft informatica gestudeerd. Toen hij binnenkwam , zei hij
vriendelijk en netjes gedag. Hij leek me wel een aardige knul.
Angelique nam hem mee naar zijn afdeling. Later vertelde ze
mij dat hij niet wist waarvoor het pasje van het hek was. Verder
had ze hem wijs gemaakt dat ze wel eens aan de lamp zwaaide!
Volgens haar geloofde hij het ook nog, maar ik denk dat zij daar
ongelijk in heeft. Later zag ik hem weer in de kantine. Het is een
vlotte jongen, die een goede babbel heeft. Hij zal zich wel weten
te redden hier.

Today a new young man came. His name is Bert. He studied computer science. When he came in, he gave a friendly hi-how-are-you
213

(lit., said friendly and neatly g'day). He seemed to me to be a nice

guy. Angelique took him with her to his department. Later she told
me that he didn 't know what the pass for the gate was for. Whut's
more, she made him believe that she sometimes swung on the lamp!
According to her he believed her, but 1 think she's mistaken. Later J
saw him again in the cafeteria. He's an easy-mannered young man,
who's a good talker. He 'll get along well here.

13H. CULTURE NOTE 2

Even though there 's no grammatica! distinction between m asculine

and feminine nouns in Dutch-they're both de-words, as opposed
to het-words-you can show gender on words like professions and
occupations in Dutch much like you can in English. In Dutch, you
can usually form the female version of a male non by adding a
suffix such as -e or -ster.
assistente (female assistant)
ploeggenote (female team mate)
fietsster (female cyclist)
vrijwilligster (female volunteer)

The suffixes -e and -ster are rather productive, meaning that you '11
see them used a lot to create new noun s. There are other, less
productive, feminine suffixes as well: -in, -es, -euse, and -ice for
example.

214

koning (king)

koningin (queen)

vriend (male friend)

vriendin (fema/e friend)

prins (prince)

prinses (princess)

zanger (male singel)

zangeres (female singer)

adviseur (male advisol}

adviseuse (fema/e advisor)

chauffeur (male driver,

chauffeuse (fema/e driver)

directeur (ma.Ie d/redol}

directrice (fema/e director)

conducteur (male conductor)

conductrice (female conductor)

t 1
Female nationalities are formed by add1' ng -e to th e proper dti 1ec
val form. Sometimes the male forms are Iess predictable than the
female forms.

rft;d~~~nder {Dutchman)

f ~;ri.~aan {American

man)

f-~gelsman (Englishman)

,_big (Belgian man)

Nederlandse (Dutch woman)

Amerikaanse (American woman)
Engelse (English woman)
Belgische (Be/gian woman)

In practice, the male version of a profession may refer to either

sex, so a conducteur may actually be a man or a woman. But if the
female form is used, it can only refer to a woman. And just as in
the US, there has been some debate in the Netherlands about the
names for certain professions that are gender biased. For example,
timmerman (carpenter) ends in man, and some women prefer
a word like timmervrou w or even just timmer. In some cases, a
new; gender-neutr al term has come about. So rather than saying
verpleegster (female nurse) and verpleger (male nurse), people
may use verpleegkun dige. Of course, you already know which pronouns to use, even if the nouns are less certain: hij is for men, and
zij/ze is for women.

EXERCISES
Choose a word from the list below to complete the dialogue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.
vinden, waarvan, die, mocht, dat, vindt, zich, wie, het,
waarin
Ilse: Zo u bent de heer
zocht?

een nieuwe baan

Hans: Jawel mevrouw. Ik zag al iets 2 _ _ _ ik

dacht dat 3___ iets voor mij was.
Ilse: Zo meneer! En wat 4 ___ dat wel zijn? Wat
dacht u dat wel iets voor u was?
Hans: Ik bedoel die betrekking als webmaster.
Informatica is het vak 5 ___ ik gestudeerd
heb.
Ilse: Dat bedrijf stelt wel heel hoge eisen aan
een kandidaat met 6__ _ ze willen
samenwerke n. U moet in elk geval een
mastertitel hebben.
215

Hans : Vanzelfsprekend 7 _ _ _ zij een mastertitel

noodzakelijk voor een baan als webmaster.

B. Fill in the blanks with the simple past form of the verb given in
parentheses.

jullie dat al eens eerder? (zien)

1.
2.

Hij ___ nog een glas. (drinken)

3. De mannen

de koffie koud worden. (laten)

4. De jongens ___ nog lang over de wedstrijd. (praten)

5. Waarom

hij nog zo laat op bed? (liggen)

6. Zij (sg.) ___ alleen dure jurken. (kopen)

7. Wij

op een overwinning. (hopen)

C. Complete each sentence with the correct relative pronoun, using

the preposition in parentheses if there is one.

Dat is de man - - - (+met) zij getrouwd is.

2 . Wanneer zou de lamsbout
ze hadden besteld, klaar zijn '?
--1.

3 Jullie konden het huis _ _ _ (+in) zij woonden, niet verkopen.

4. Pietje, ___ net vijf jaar is, kan al schrijven.
5. Jan zou het busje _ _ _ (+ met) hij naar Den Haag reed, repareren.
6. Het netwerk, _ _ _ net gerepareerd was, lag alweer plat.
D. Fill in the right pronouns, using the underlined words as referents.
1. ~was

2.

ziek. _ _ _ kwam niet uit _ _ _ bed.

De oude dokter gaat _ _ _ praktijk sluiten.

3. Het boerinnetje had

klompen aangetrokken.

4. De sleutel past niet in het slot.

5. Die stenen moeten weg. Gooi
6. Is het paard ziek? Ik zie
216

is te groot.
maar in de kar!
niet meer in de wei.

v. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.

1

. The

2 . The

doctors fought for his life.

driver parks her car in front of the building.

3. Do you (fml.) know the man with whom I'm married?

4. We wanted to buy a house, in which there were five bedrooms. (use
zitten)
5. That dog is fast. It's won a lot of races already.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE

Since we've been talking about the workplace in this lesson,

see if you can find. your way around employment opportunity
posting in Dutch. Check out www.werk.nl or www.JobTrack.nl.
Explore the site, and make a few selections to find a particular
posting. See how much of it you can understand, and of course
don't be afraid to look up new vocabulary and record it in your
journal. Fora real challenge, try to write a short cover letter as
if you were applying for the job. You can find some help on
sites like www.leren.nl or www.loopbaanadvies.nl. You'll find
that even writing a short letter gives you the opportunity to put
a lot of vocabulary and grammar to work !

ANSWER KEY
A.i. die;

2.

B.I. zagen;

waarvan; 3. het; 4. mocht; 5. dat; 6. wie; 7. vinden

2.

C.i. met wie;

dronk; 3. lieten; 4. praatten; 5. lag; 6. kocht; 7. hoopten

2.

die; 3. waarin; 4. die; 5. waarmee; 6. dat

D.I. hij-zijn/z'n;

2.

zijn/z'n; 3. haar/d'r; 4. hij; 5. ze; 6. het

E. 1. De dokters vochten voor zijn leven./De dokters hebben voor

zijn leven gevochten. 2. De chauffeur/chauffeuse parkeert haar
auto voor het gebouw. 3. Kent u de man met wie ik getrouwd ben?
4~ Wij/we wilden een huis kopen waarin vijf slaapkamers zaten/
waar vijf slaapkamers in zaten. 5. Die hond is snel. Hij heeft al veel
races gewonnen.
217

218

LESSON

14

Vrije tijd
Leisure time

Lesson 14 focuses on leisure time, so you'll learn vocabulary that

will help you talk about entertainment, hobbies, and interests. But
it can't be all about kicking back, so you'll also learn some more
Dutch grammar. In this lesson we'll look at different uses of the
infinitive, including a lot of types of verba) expressions you're likely
to come across in Dutch. We'll also talk about indefinites, which are
.words like some and any. But we'll begin as always with a vocabulary warm-up.

11tA. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

bioscoop (de; bioscopen)

movies, cinema

concertzaal (de; -zalen)

concert hall

dancing (de; dancings)

dance hall

nachtclub (de; -clubs)

night club

pretpark (het; -parken)

amusement park, funfair

opera (de; opera's)

opera house

schouwburg (de; -burgen)

play house, theater

theater (het; theaters)

theater

14B. DIALOGUE
Maarten and Marleen are discussing an evening out, hut unfortunately they have different ideas about worthwhile entertainment.
Listen in as they try to make plans anyway.

219

Maarten: H, wat zit je te doen? Zullen we vanavond

naar de film gaan?
Marleen: Nee, vanavond ga ik zwemmen. Dat weet je
toch?
Maarten: Ach, dat is waar ook. Maar er draait iets
leuks in de bioscoop. Ik stel voor om samen
te gaan en daarna te gaan stappen.
Marleen: Ik hoef niet elke week te stappen hoor.
Zullen we morgen gaan?
Maarten: Ja goed. Ik ben morgen vrij, want het
voetbal is afgelast. Ze zijn nieuw gras aan
het leggen. Zal ik vast kaartjes reserveren?
Marleen: Ja doe dat. Toen ik een tijdje geleden
naar een toneelstuk wilde gaan, was alles
uitverkocht. Het leek of iedereen naar die
voorstelling ging, zoveel mensen stonden
daar te wachten!
Maarten: Tja, met muziek is dat ook lastig. Ik baal
soms best wel dat je van tevoren moet
reserveren voor grote concerten. Zelfs voor
de klassieke muziek moet je in de rij staan.
Nee, dan liever een leuk festival.
Marleen: Nou, zeker! Deze zomer zijn er genoeg. Maar
ik ga net zo lief naar het strand. Elke dag
in zee en dan een mooi boek om te lezen.
Heerlijk!
Maarten: Ja, maar het is steeds zo'n eind fietsen. Ik
houd niet van fietsen en ik wil al helemaal
niet wandelen, al is het natuurgebied
nog zo mooi. Nee, ik doe liever een
computerspelletje.
Marleen: Jij weer met je computerspelletjes. Je moest
eens een hoek lezen of iets anders gaan
doen. Je speelde vroeger toch klarinet?
Maarten: Dat is lang geleden ... Maar we gaan
morgen naar de film? Dat is toch
afgesproken?
Marleen: Ja, dat is goed. Maar ik wil ook een keer
naar de schouwburg of zo. Het mag wel eens
wat meer cultuur hebben dan een film.
220

Maarten: Probeer je soms te zeggen dat ik niet

cultureel genoeg ben? Voetballen hoort ook
bij cultuur, hoor!
Marleen: Ja hoor. Een troepje mannen die achter een
bal lopen te rennen, dat is ook cultuur. We
kunnen ook eens iets anders doen: samen
met vrienden spelletjes doen. Dat lijkt me
ook best leuk.
Maarten: Als jij dat wilt, kunnen we best eens een
spelletje doen. Of een potje ... voetbal!

Maarten: Her, what are you doing naw? Should we go to

the movies tonight?
Marleen: No, tonight J'm going swimming. You know
that!
Maarten: Oh yeah, that's right. But there's a good movie
at the cinema. I suggest we go together and
then go out.
Marleen: I don't need to go out every week, you know.
Should we go tomorrow?
Maarten: Yeah, good. J'm free tomorrow, because soccer
has been cancelled. They're putting down
new grass. Should I go ahead and reserve the
tickets?
Marleen: Yes, do that. When I wanted to see a play
some time ago, everything had been sold out.
lt looked as if everybody was going to that
performance, so many people were in line.
Maarten: With music it is also tricky. f'm really fed up
that you always have to book your tickets in
advance for big concerts. Even for classica!
music you have to wait in line. No, I prefer a
nice festival.
Marleen: Por sure! There are plenty offestivals this
summer. But I like going to the beach just as
much. Every day in the sea, and then a nice
boo~ to read. Fantastic !
Maarten: Yes, but it's always so far by bike. I don't like
cycling and I don't like walking at all, even if
the nature reserve is so beautiful. No, I prefer
playing a computer game.
221

Marleen:

You and your computer yarnes. You '>fumlrl reruJ

a book or do som ethiny else. Didn't you uv~ /r;
play the clarine t ?

Maarten : That was a long time ago ... Rut we're fjoin9 /r)
the movies tomorrow? So it's settlerlr
Marleen : Yes, all right . But one day J'd like to yo to the
theater or something like that . ft could ha ve 0
bit more culture than the movies.
Maarten: Are you trying to say J'm not cultured enouqh?
Soccer is apart of culture, too!
Marleen: Oh yes. A bunch of men chasing a bal/, that 's
real cultural. But we could d o something else:
Play games with friends. That sounds like fun
to me.
Maarten:

IJ you want to d o that, we could pla y a ga m e

sometime. Or a game of . . . soccer!

t11C. VOCABULARY

222

afgelasten (gelastte af, heeft

afgelast)

to cancel

afspreken (sprak af, spraken af,

heeft afgesproken)

to settle, to agree on

al

even ij, although

alles

everything

balen (baalde, heeft gebaald)

to be Jed up

computerspelletje (het;
-spelletjes)

computer game

cultuur (de; culturen)

culture

eind (het; einden)

distance, end

elk (elke)

each, every

enige tijd geleden

some time ago

festival (het; festivals)

festival

fietsen (fietste, heeft/is gefietst)

to cycle, to bike

film (de; films)

movie,film

gras (het; grassen)

grass

11oren bij (hoorde bij, heeft

geboord bij)

to helorig to

klarinet (de; klarinetten)

clarinet

helemaal

entirel~

helemaal niet

TIOl (lf

al/

ieder (iedere)

f'\'f'n'.

each

iedereen

P\'enhodv

iets leuks

SOn1Pthi11q 11ice. somethin[J/1111

kaartje (het; kaartjes)

tidpt

klassiek (klassieke)

classicn/

lang geleden

long aqo

lijken (leek, heeft geleken)

to look . to sePm

mensen (de)

people

natuurgebied (het; -gebieden)

nature rv-;erve

proberen (probeerde, heeft

geprobeerd)

to try

reserveren (reserveerde, heeft

gereserveerd)

to reserve, to hook

rij (de; rijen)

line, row, queue

stappen (stapte, heeft gestapt)

to go out (to dirmer, movies, /or

drinks, etc.)

steeds

always

strand (het; stranden)

beach

toneelstuk (het; -stukken)

(stage) play

troep (de; troepen)

bunch, crowd

uitverkocht (uitverkochte)

sold out

van tevoren

in advance

voetbal (het)

soccer

voetbal (de; -ballen)

soccer ball

v~tballen (voetbalde, heeft

geyoetbald)

to play soccer

voorstellen (stelde voor, heeft

voorgesteld)

to suggest, to propose
223

voorstelling (de; -stellingen)

performance

waar (ware)

true

zoveel

so much/ many

zwemmen (zwom, heeft/is

gezwommen)

to swim

14D. KEY PHRASES

Here are some key phrases that you can use to talk about leisure
time, to make plans, and to voice an opinion.
Zeg Piet, wat zullen we gaan
doen?

Say, Piet, what are we going to do?

Wat denk je van een film/een

toneelstuk/een concert?

How about a movie/a play/a

concert?

Laten we naar een restaurant

gaan en daarna met een paar
vrienden wat gaan drinken.

Let's go to a restaurant, and then

meet up with some friends for
drinks.

We gaan naar een feest en

daarna gaan we dansen.

We're going to a party, and then

we're going dancing.

Ik ben doodmoe. Laten we

thuis blijven en een film huren.

J'm exhausted. Let's stay in and

rent a movie.

Wat doe je graag in je vrije tijd? What do you like to do in your free
time?
Ik vind lezen/fietsen/
trainen/koken/munten
verzamelen leuk.

1 like reading/biking/working out/

cooking/collecting coins.

Dat vind ik interessant/

vervelend/saai.

1find that interesting/annoying/

boring.

Ik heb er geen zin in om dat

te doen.

1 don 't fee[ like doing that.

Waar heb je zin in?

What do you f eel like doing?

't Is toch niet waar, h?

That isn't true, is it?

Zeg dat wel!

You can say so !

Daar hebt u natuurlijk gelijk in. Of course you're right about that.
Dank u voor die vriendelijke
woorden.
224

Thank you for those kind words.

Daar ben ik het helemaal mee

eens.
Dat lijkt me leuk.

11tE. CULTURE NOTE

1 agree with that completely.

That seems like Jun to me.

Every employed person in the Netherlands has the right to take

vakantie (holidays).. If a person works full ti"me
, or fi ve d ays a wee k,
he or she has the nght to a minimum of twenty paid holidays per
year. On top of that, em?loyers also pay vakantiegeld (vacation
pay) once a year, usually m May. This is a percentage of the salary,
which is accumulated by the employee over the course of the year.
It often amounts to 70% of the monthly salary. An employee may
use this extra pay toward a vacation, which he or she may request
at any time during the year. The employer must agree, except in
cases where an employee's absence would impose a burden on the
business. In such cases, the employer has to propose an alternative
vacation arrangement, and employer and employee must carne to
an agreement.
Most people take a minimum of two weeks vacation during the
summertime, when the entire family packs up and heads for a favorite destination, such as Turkey, Spain, or Greece. Others enjoy
camping in France, and in fact the Dutch are known throughout
Europe for their caravans (house trailers) and their campers (RVs,
campers). Still others decide to stay within the Netherlands. Many
of these domestic travelers, especially young people and new families, flock to beaches from Zeeland in the south up to the Dutch
Wadden (Shallows) in the north. Other popular vacation spots are
the wooded areas in the central and eastern parts of the country, as
well as the hills in Limburg in the south. The IJsselmeer and the
lakes in the north are popular for sailing. Of course, not all people can afford to take vacations away from their homes. For these
families local authorities and churches subsidize and organize all
kinds of activities for children and their families at playgrounds
and sports facilities. The Netherlands is also known fora number
of popular pretparken (amusement parks), ~hich are ~ treat ~or
children at any time. One of the best known is De Eftelmg, wh1ch
has won a lot of international prizes.

225

14F. GRAMMAR
Grammar point

1: The progressive

By now you knOV\' quite a frw uses nl tht' i_n tlnitin' in Dutch. Fnr
example, in Lt'SSOll 'i you learned th,1t inhrnt1\es drt' used aht>r
. . k unnen, w111 e1 i , 'ind mogen. And in Lesmodals, suc }1 as moeten,
son 12 you leanwd that intlnitin's are abo used with tuture verb s
like zullen and gaan. Nmv let 's look at progress1ves . ":hJCh also u::-.e
the infinitive. A progressive is the form of a verb that mchcates that
an action is ongoing. In English. progressin' torms usually use the
-ing form of a verb. for example 1 am reading v~. 1. read. or she was
writing vs. she wrote. In Dutch, tlwre area te\\' different ways of using an infinitive to express a progressive.
First, you can use the construct ion aan het + infiniti\e zijn (to be
doing something), fen example aan het lezen zijn (to be rending l.
Instead of saying Jos leest een boek, you can explicitlv express th e
idea that this action is going on right nov1' by saving Jos is een boek
aan het lezen. Notice that the main verb moves to the end of th e
clause, as you've seen in a few different constructions. The conjugated form of zijn is in the second position. Here are a fe\\' oth er
examples. Notice that zijn can also be in the past tense.
Hij schreef een brief./Hij was een brief aan het schrijven.
He was writing a letter.

Jullie wandelen al uren./Jullie zijn al uren aan het wandelen.

You've already been walking for hours (fit" yo11 re walking for hours
afready).

De kinderen spelen voetbal./De kinderen zijn voetbal aan het spelen.

The children are playing soccer.

It's important to point out that the progressive in Dutch can al so be

expressed by a simple verb tense. For example, Jos leest een boek
can be translated either as Jos reads a book or /os is reading a book.
depending on context. The progressive forms that we 're looking
at now are used by Dutch speakers to explicitly emphasize that an
action is ongoing.
You'll also come across verbs other than zijn in aan het+ infinitive
constructions, and these verbs convey different nuances. The verbs
gaan, raken, and slaan convey a sense of beginning an action.
Houden conveys a sense of continuing an action, and brengen,
krijgen, maken, and zetten convey a sense of causing an action.
226

De bemanning slaat aan het muiten.

.
to mutinv.
crew heoin~
The crew rises in m11tiny.iThe

.1

ze maakte mij aan het lachen.

She made me laugh .

Dat zette hem aan het denken.

That got him thinking .

Jt's also quite .co~1m o n in Dutch to charart Pri zP tht' tvpe ot -.t <lt <'
s
f 11
-1e <>rl a progre,,i\e
en
1s 111 wh
that someone
I S lll1 0 C 111 g . 0. 111
c 11

. ,

.
stead of a s1mple ZIJn, 1t s al so possihl e to ust> zitten te, liggen te ,
staan te, or lopen te with an infiniti\'t' . Tlwst' mm l'\'. rcspecti \'el v.
a s~nse of sitting, lying. standing, or walking while performing 1
. act1on. Compare the following exarnples.

a;

We zongen.
We sang.jlVe were singing.
We liepen te zingen.
We were walking and singing./ V/e wa/k ed ulon_q sin<;iny
Ze praatten steeds.
They were talking all the time.
Ze zaten steeds te praten.
They were sitting and talking all the tim e./Thc>y sat there 111/J..in.</ uil th l'
time.
Jullie rookten een sigaret.
You were smoking a cigarette.

Jullie stonden een sigaret te roken.

Y~ stood there smoking a cigarette.
Ze zei ons dat hij rustig sliep.
She told us that he was sleeping quietly.
Ze zei ons dat hij rustig lag te slapen.
She told us that he was quietly lying asleep.

Remember that in a dependent clause, such as in the last two ex

amples, the conjugated verb goes to the end, mostly before uncon
jugated verbs like the infinitive introduced by te.
Grmmmr point 2: More on lnfinitives

There are a few other verbs that a can be followed by an infinitive,

without aan het or te. They include blijven (to keep, to go on), laten
(to let, to allow), horen (to hear), zien (to see), komen (to come), and
227

doen (to do). Notice that these constructions can be translated with
a number of different verb forrns in English.
Ze bleven zingen.
They went on singing.jfhey kept singing.
Laat me uitspreken!
let me finish my sentence !
We laten je niet met hem spreken.
We won 't allow you to speak to him.
Ik zag hem vallen.
l saw him fall.

Het kind hoorde de paarden hinniken.

The child heard the harses neigh.
Wij komen jullie helpen.
We come here to help you.
Die opmerking deed haar blozen.
That remark made her blush.

There are a lot of verbs that are followed by an infinitive that also
take the preposition te (to). Common examples are: beginnen (to
begin), beloven (to promise) , besluiten (to decide), blijken (to appear), denken (to think), dreigen (to threaten), durven (to dare),
geloven (to believe), hoeven (to have to), lijken (to look), menen (to
think), proberen (to try), schijnen (to seem), verbieden (to forbid),
vergeten (to forget), weigeren (to refuse), wensen (to wish), and
weten (to manage).
Het begint te regenen.
!t's beginning to rain.
Ik probeer Nederlands te leren.
J'm trying to leam Dutch.
Zij wist haar doel te bereiken.
She managed to achieve her goal.
Hij bleek ziek te zijn.
He tumed out to be il/.
Durf je dat te doen?
Do you dare do that?
Ik besloot deze te nemen.
I decided to take this one.
Je hoeft niets te zeggen.
You don't have to say anything.
228

Notice in the last example that hoeven always needs some sort of
egative element after it. That could be for example niet (not), geen
~nota), maar (on/y) . nauwelijks (hard/y).

Grmmar point 3: lndefinites

Indefinites are useful when you need to talk about someone or
something that hasn 't been specifically identified, or when you
don't know the precise number or amount of something. Some
common Dutch indefinite pronouns are iemand (somebody, someone, anybody, anyone) , ieder/iedereen (everybody, everyone) , iets/
wat (something, anything) , niemand (nobody, no one, none) , niets
(nothing), elk (each), allen (al/ people), alles (everything), sommigen
(some people), allemaal (all), and n en ander (something).
Iemand heeft mijn horloge gepakt.
Someone took my watch.
Er is niets meer over.
There is nothing left.

Niemand was thuis toen we terugkwamen.

No one was home when we carne back.
Allen hebben het gezien.
Everyone saw it.
You can also use an indefinite much like you use an adjective, right
before a noun. In this sense the most common indefini te is een (a,
an). You've also already seen geen (no, none, nota). Some others are
ieder (every, any), elk (each), alle (all), sommige (some), ene/een
zekere (a certain), and n of ander (some or other). An unknown
number of something is expressed with the indefinites enige/
enkele/wat/verscheidene/versc hillende (some), weinig/een beetje
(a little,Jew) , genoeg/voldoende (enough), or veel (much, many).
We gaan enkele dagen op reis.
We're going to take a trip fora few days.
We zijn iedere dag aan het joggen.
We jog every day.
Sommige mensen wilden een ander.
Some people wanted someone els.
Sommige differs from enige/enkele etc. With enige/enkele etc"
you may introduce something new into the conversation, with
sommige you may not. This may be confusing at times, hut luckily Dutch also has an expression that covers the meanings of both
229

enige/enkele and sommige: een paar (a few, some, a couple of) .

So We gaan een paar dagen op reis mean s the same as We gaan
enkele dagen op reis.

If the indefinite introduces something new into the conversation ,

you can use it in senten ces with er (there). This constr.uction is similar, but not quite identical, to English there construct1ons.
Er is niets meer over.
There is nothing left.
Er komen weinig noten aan de boom.
.
The tree will only have a few nuts (lit., there are coming a few nuts on
the tree).
Is er iemand thuis?
Is (there) anyone home?
Er zijn iedere dag enkele werknemers op kantoor.
There are some employees at the office every day.
Er zat een hond onder de tafel.
A dog was sitting under the table.fThere was a dog sitting under the table.

Er zijn veel gasten gearriveerd.

Many guests have arrived./There have arrived many guests.

146. READING
Read the following short passage, about an untraditional take on
classica! music. Try to get the gist of what you're reading, and be
on the lookout for examples of the grammar that you leamed in
this lesson.

Gisteravond ben ik naar een concert geweest. Daar was iemand

celloconcerten van Bach aan het spelen op de saxofoon! Nou
vraag ik je! De saxofoon bestond nog niet toen Bach leefde, toch?
Ik zat te luisteren naar suites vor cello, gespeeld op een baritonsax. Dat durfde die man gewoon te spelen. Als je sommige
cellosuites kent, hoor je dat ze op de saxofoon anders klinken.
De muziek lijkt een aaneenschakeling van nootjes te zijn, maar
toch laat de saxofonist de componist overleven. Hij blijkt een
Bachliefhebber te zijn. En voor wie van een celloverleden geen
last heeft, belooft deze Bach op sax een ontdekking te zijn. Bach
klinkt hier op enkele momenten hl jazzy.

230

Yesterday evening I went toa concert. There was somebody pla ying
Bach's cello concertos on the saxophone! Can you believe that ? (Lit.,

The saxophone didn 't exLS t yet when Bach wa ['

NoW I ask you!)
.
.

. sa ive,
did it? I was hstenmg to suites for cello pla d b
ye Y a saxophomst 1That
'
. .
man ha d th e nerve to play as if it were noth'zng at aIl (t Lt.,
Just ltke
that). IJ you k naw some of the cello suites' you 'Il hear that they sound
.
The music seem s to b e a concatenatwn
different on the saxophone.
.
0'lrnotes, b ut t h e saxophomst let the compose r come t h roug h (l.it sur. ,t
Bach Andfior anyone who., 1sn
a devotee or
vive). He turns out to be
'J

. to
by a past wzth cellos, this Bach on saxop hone prom1ses
bothered
.
be a dzscovery. Bach sounds very jazzy at some moments.

UtH CULTURE NOTE

:z

Dutch has borrowed many words from Engli sh, but you can find
some Dutch :vords in the US as well. The oldest ones are place
names, espec1ally around New York, which was after all Nieuw
Amsterdam at one point. These names originate from the first
foreigners in Manhattan, the Dutch yvho bought the island from
the Native Americans. Did you know that Brooklyn is named after
Breukelen, a village north of the city of Utrecht'? Harlem is named
after Haarlem, a city west of Amst erdam , and Flushing, Queens, is
named after Vlissingen, a city in the southwes t of the country, in
the province of Zeeland. There are' a nurnber of other Dutch place
names in and around New York as well : Stuyvesant, Gansevoort,
Spuyten Duyvel, The Bowery (from bouwerij) , and still more.

Of course Dutch has found its way into English outside of placen~.rn <FS as well. A lot of English terms related to shipping and
seafarii}g are actually borrowings from Dutch. For example, schipper bec~m e skipper, sloep became sloop, jacht became yacht, and
vrijbuiter, wbich was originally a pirate, became filibuster. Vracht
changed into freight and hijsen into hoist. Keelhaul carne from
kielhalen, scow from schouw and starboard from stuurboord. The
dog schipperke, which meant "little boatman " or skipper's kin , did
not change in English, at least in spelling. The fight against water produceJ dilre from the Dutch dijk, pump from pomp and an
unchanged polder. There are also quite a lot of words that refer
to food: co/es/uw from koolsla, halibut from heilbot, cookie from
koekje, pancake from pannenkoek, pit (of fruit) from pit, scone
from schoon brood, or "beautiful bread,", and wafjle from wafel.
Other borrowin1.. , rl!fer to art: ezel gave us easel, etsen to etch,
.landschap /mul~~ npe, and schets sketch. There are a few in ~heir
.own category...fbde from schaats, and of course Santa Claus trom

Sinterklaas.
231

EXERCISES
Choose a word from the li st below to complete the dialogue . You
may not need to use every word in the list.

te, vinden, jawel, lopen, hebben, aan het, zitten, hopen,

waarin
Antje: Hallo, wat leuk jullie hier te zien. Zijn jullie
wandelen ?
Jos:

2
, wij hebben een huisje gehuurd in de
buurt van het pretpark.

Antje: Zo! Is dat niet iets dat jullie altijd al 3 _ __

willen doen?
Jos: Zeker, en we zijn blij dat het mooi weer
belooft 4 _ __ worden.
Antje: Nou, zeg dat wel! Wij 5 _ __ ook liever in
de zon te wandelen .
Jos: Vanzelfsprekend. We 6 _ _ _ jullie morgen
weer te zien.
Antje: Insgelijks, tot morgen dan.
B. Complete each of the following with aan het, te, or nothing.
1.

Denkt u nog de ingang ___ kunnen ___ vinden?

2.

Hij bracht haar ___ twijfelen.

3. Jullie moeten de deur niet open ___ laten ___ staan!

4. De jongens hoefden niet nog eens naar huis ___ bellen.
5. Ze stonden een uur lang ___ praten.
6. Wij zijn rustig
7. Hoorden jullie ons niet

tekenen.
roepen?

C. Complete each sentence with the correct indefinite.

1.

Kent u (iemand/iets) die dat ons kan zeggen?

2.

Als het gaat regenen, mag natuurlij k (iedereen/niemand) die bang

is om nat te worden, naar binnen gaan.

3. Er zijn (sommige/enkele/een paar) gasten gearriveerd.

232


4. t{et personeel begon naar buiten te lopen (All
- es All en ) gingen
naar
het feest.

5_Hij heeft (n en ander/n of ander) vriendinnetje gevonden

D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
1. She's

going to marry a rich man .

2 . They

stood and sang a sad song.

3- Is there anybody who manages to find the key?

4. We gave some money to each of the children.
5. You (fml.) are playing very wel!.
6. I promise you that I'll carne (lit., to carne) tomorrow.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Now that you've read about free time and vacations in the
Netherlands, put the Dutch you've learned so far to good use
planning a getaway of your own! Imagine that you're traveling
to the Netherlands with your spouse, your family, your partner,
your friend, or on your own. Try to find some destinations that
will meet everyone's interest. For example, do you want to see
a lot of molens (windmills) and tulpen (tulips)? Or maybe if
you have young children you prefer to find Nijntje (Miffy) or to
visit De Efteling. Or would you rather see the paintings of Van
Gogh, Vermeer, and Rembrandt? If you're into engineering
feats you may want to visit the Delta Works. Explore sites such
as reizen.startpagina.nl , www.kaart.nl, nl.wikipedia.org, www
.efteling.nl, www.nijntje.nl, or www.amsterdammer tje.com, but
try to limit yourself to exploring in Dutch! Do your research
and write out your itinerary in your Language Journal.

ANSWER KEY
A.i. aan het; 2. jawel; 3. hebben; 4. te; 5. lopen; 6. hopen
B. 1. te,-;

2.

aan het; 3. -, -; 4. te; 5. te ; 6. aan het ; 7. -

C.i. iemand; 2 . iedereen; 3. enkele, een paar; 4. Allen; 5. een of ander

233

234

drntYi<>
/ij lt.' g.i.1t l't'll rijkt lil.lil lrollWt 'll. 2. Zij H' stonde n t't'll
-+\\ij'"'
:'
\i11de11
tl'
\\Tl't
..,Jt,11tel
de
dit
iem.ind
lied Il' 1i;1ge11 . 3. b tr
\ <111 dt
tlk
hebben
rL'\Vt
kindtn
de
\<lil
elk
\\t' gan11 \\'al gdd <1.111
got,d
hct'I
bent
lJ
.
gcwd
heel
spt>tlt
lJ
.
c;
n.
kindt'rt 'll wat geld gegt>w
.
komen
tt
n
morgt
je
jou
a-in het speltn . (J. Ik btlool
1.

LESSO N

15

Sport en naar buiten

Sports and the outdoors

In this lesson you'll learn about the favorite sports of the Dutch
and how they spend their leisure time, provided that the weather
is good of course. If you want to complain about the weather, you 'll
find that you're not alone in the Netherlands, and you'll also find
many key phrases in this lesson to help you express yourself. For
grammar, you'll learn about passives and conditionals. But first ,
we'll get started with a vocabulary warm-up.

15A. VOCABULARY WARM-UP

de wind mee hebben

to have the wind at one's back (!it.,

to have the wind with)

de wind tegen hebben

to walk against the wind (!it., to

have the wind against)

Er is niets aan de hand.

Everything is fine.

Hoe staat het met je

zeil plannen?

What about your sailing plans?

Ik kijk ernaar uit.

I'm looking forward to it.

Ik zou er niet op rekenen.

I wouldn't count on it.

Je raakt natgeregend.

You'll get wet in the rain.

Wat is er aan de hand?

What's going on there?

Als het meezit, hebben we

tijd genoeg.

IJ all goes well, we'll have plenty of

time.

158. DIALOGUE
Barbara and Henk, two parents with children in the same school,
run into each other in the schoolyard.
235

Barbara: Dag Henk! Kom jij ook je kinderen ophalen?

Henk: Ja, ik heb wat leuks voor vandaag bedacht.
Als het mooi weer blijft, gaan we zwemmen
in het meertje.
Barbara: Wat leuk! In de lente ben ik daar met mijn
kinderen geweest. Als ik het dit weekend
niet te druk heb, gaan we er misschien weer
heen. Of anders naar de dierentuin.
Henk: Dit weekend worden de kinderen door mijn
ouders opgevangen. Dan kunnen Marjan en
ik eens weg. We gaan naar het eiland Texel,
in een hotelletje in de duinen. Als het een
beetje meezit, hebben we tijd genoeg om een
lange wandeling langs het strand te maken.
Misschien wordt er ook wel wadgelopen en
vogels gekeken.
Barbara: Wauw, wat een goed idee! Dat zouden
mijn man en ik ook eens moeten doen.
Dierentuin, speeltuin en kinderboerderij
zijn leuk hoor, maar ik wil ook wel eens
fietstocht in het bos maken of over de hei
wandelen. Maar dat is alleen leuk in de
zomer, als het droog is. Ik houd niet van
regen.
Henk: En tegenwind op de fiets is ook niet alles
hoor. Als je op de heenweg wind tegen hebt,
dan denk je dat je op de terugweg de wind
mee zal hebben. Maar vaak genoeg krijg je
dan ook wind tegen!
Barbara: Ja, je raakt ook nog wel eens natgeregend.
Ach, als ik daarna weer droge kleren aan
kan trekken, is er niets aan de hand. Ik vind
het leuker dan thuis naar voetbal kijken.
Ik kijk liever naar schaatsen. Wordt de
Elfstedentocht dit jaar nog gereden, denk je?
Henk: Ik zou er niet op rekenen, tenzij het erg
koud wordt. Het vriest gewoon niet hard
genoeg meer in de winter. Hoe staat het
trouwens met jouw zeil plannen?
Barbara: Ik ga begin herfst een weekend met
vriendinnen zeilen op de Noordzee. Dat
wordt geweldig, ik kijk er al naar uit! Oh
kijk, de school is uit.
236

Henk: Ja, ik zie mijn kinderen al. Nou fijne dag!

Barbara: Dank je, jij ook. En veel plezier dit weekend!

Barbara: Hi Henk! Are you picking up your children toa?

Henk: Yes, I thought of something nice Jor today. IJ
the weather stays nice, we'll go swimming in
the little fake.
Barbara: How nice ! I was there with my kids in the
spring. IJ J'm not too busy this weekend, we'LL
go there again. Or otherwise to the zoo.
Henk: This weekend the children will be taken care of
by my parents. Marjan and I will be able to get
away. We'Ll go to the island of Texel, in a small
hotel in the dunes. IJ all goes wel!, we'll have
plenty of time to take a long walk along the
beach. And maybe get in some (Zit., there wil/ be)
walking over the shallows and bird watching.
Barbara: Wow, what a nice idea! My husband and I
should do that some time, too. Zoo, playground,
and petting zoo are nice, but I would also like
to go on a bike tour in the forest or go for a
walk in the field. But that's only Jun during the
summer, when it's dry. I don 't like rain.
Henk: And riding your bike against the wind isn't the
greatest thing (lit., everything), you know. When
you have the wind against you on the way out,
you think that you'll have the wind behind you
on the way back. But often enough you get
headwinds then, too !
Barbara: Yes, you also get wet in the rain. IJ 1 can put on
dry clothes afterwards, there's no problem. I
like it more than staying at home and watching
soccer. I prefer watching ice skating. Do you
think the "Bleven City Tour" will be skated this
year?
Henk: l wouldn't count on it, unless it's very cold. It
just doesn'tfreeze hard enough anymore in
the winter. By the way, what about your sailing

plans?
Barbara: f'/l 90 sailiny with some girlfriends on the North
Se~ early in the fall. It'll be terrific. I'm already
lookingjonvard to itl Oh look, school's out.

237

Henk: Yes, J already see my kids. Well, have a nice day 1

Barbara: Thanks, yo11 too. And enjoy your weekend!

15C. VOCABULARY

anders

otherwise

bedenken (bedacht, heeft

bedacht)

to think of/up

bos (het; bossen)

forest, woods

dierentuin (de; -tuinen)

zoo

duin (het; duinen)

dune

eiland (het; eilanden)

is land

fietstocht (de; -tochten)

bike tour

geweldig (geweldige;
geweldiger, geweldigst)

terrific, tremendous

heenweg (de; -)

way there, way towards something

hei (de; heiden)

field, heath, heather

herfst (de;-)

autumn, fall

het druk hebben

to be busy

kinderboerderij (-boerderijen)

petting zoo

lente (de; lentes)

spring

Illeer(het;Illeren)

lake

Illee:dtten (zat Illee, heeft

Illeegezeten)

to be favorable, to go wel!, to work

out

natregenen (regende nat, is

natgeregend)

to get wet in the min

ophalen (haalde op, heeft

opgehaald)

to collect

opvangen (ving op, heeft

opgevangen)

to catch, to take care of

regen (de; regens)

ra in

rekenen op (rekende op, heeft

.to count on

gerek~nd op)

rijden (reed, heeft/is gereden)

238

to ride, to drive

schaatsen (schaatste, heeft/is

geschaatst)

to ice-skate

speeltuin (de; -tuinen)

playground

tegenwind (de; -winden)

headwin d

tenzij

unless

terugweg (de; -)

way back

trouwens

by the way

uitkijken naar (keek uit naar,

heeft uitgekek en naar)

to look forward to

voetbal (de; -ballen)

soccer bal/ (object)

voetbal (het; -)

soccer (game)

vriezen (vroor, heeft

gevroren)

to freeze

wad (het; wadden )

shallow(s), mud flat

weekend (het; weekend en)

weekend

winter (de; winters)

winter

zeilen (zeilde, heeft/is gezeild)

to sail

zomer (de; zomers)

summer

zwemm en (zwom, heeft/is

gezwom men)

to swim

15D. KEY PHRAS ES

Here are some key phrases that will come in handy when talking
about the weather.
Wat voor weer is het nu?

What's the weather like now?

Heb je het weerber icht voor

het weeken d gehoord ?

Have you heard the weather report

for the weekend?

Het is een mooie dag.

/t's a beautiful day.

Het is zonnig.

/t's sunny.

Het is heet/ko ud.

!t's hot/cold.

Het is guur weer vandaag .

The weather is bleak/rawjbitter

today.

Het regent.

/t's raining.
239

Het motregent.
Het regent dat het giet.
Het regent pijpenstelen.
Het dondert en bliksemt.
Het onweert.
Het stormt vreselijk.
Het vriest dat het kraakt.

Jt's drizzling.
Jt's pouring.
!t's raining cats and dogs.
There s thunder and lightning.
There 's a thunderstorm.
!t's terribly stormy.
There 's a hard Jreeze.

Het sneeuwt.

!t's snowing.

Het is bitter koud!

!t's bitter cold!

Het waait.

!t's windy.

De wind gaat liggen.

The wind is dropping.

De wind steekt op.

The wind is coming up.

Er hangt een dichte mist.

There 's a thick Jog.

De mist trekt op.

The Jog 's lifting.

De zon komt op, en gaat weer

onder.

The sun rises, and sets again .

De zon breekt door.

The sun is breaking through.

De mussen vallen van het dak.

!t's a real scorcher. (!it. , the

sparrows are falling from th e roof)

De dooi valt in.

!t's beginning to thaw.

15E. CULTURE NOTE 1

Hup Holland hup, laat de leeuw niet in z'n hempie staan.

Hup Holland hup, trek het beestje geen pantoffels aan.
Hup Holland hup, laat je uit 't veld niet slaan.
Want de leeuw op voetbalschoenen durft de hele wereld aan.

These are the words to the oldest fight song for the Dutch national
soccer team. Like many fight songs, the exact words aren't very im
portant. Roughly translated, they go something like: Go, Holland,
go! Don't let the Zion look like a Jool (Zit. Don't keep the Zion standing
there in his undershirt)./Go, Holland, go! Don't put the beast in slip
pers./Go, Holland, go! Don't let yourself be discouraged (Zit., chased
240

of{ the field)./Because a /ion in soccer shoes can t k

h
h
'JJ
h i

.
a e on t e w 0 1e
world. T e ion m questlon is the Dutch nati
1_ b 1
.

.
. .
ona sym o , appropnate m the context of soccer, which is after all th
b
e num er one sport
in the Net h er l.an d s, .Europe, and much of the wor ld . Th ere are many
cup matches at the na t.10na1, European
soccer ch ampionships and
,
and wor. Id l.evel. The re s a soccer game bei ng b roa dcast on some'
TV. station JUSt
. . about every night. Interest in socc er st ar t s young;
1
ch1ldren can )Om a soccer team starting at age five u t.l
" .
"
. n i recent y
ch1ldren meant boys, hut nowadays an increasing number of girls
go out for soccer, too.
But soccer isn't the only sport in the Netherlands. Another important sport i~ ice skating. In farmer days you could skate every winter
on natural ice, hut now skating is mostly limited to rinks, because
the temperatures don't get low enough for very thick and hard ice.
Once in a while there is a huge skating event in Friesland, the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), in which entrants must skate 200
kilometers (a little over i 24 miles) over a course of lakes and canals.
The Dutch love ice skating, and therefore they play a prominent
role in the championships. And there are plenty of people along the
route to cheer the skaters along, bringing of course a good deal of
orange to the winter landscape.
Another love of the Dutch is swimming. In fact, just about every
Dutch girl and boy knows how to swim, and many parents send
their children to swimming lessons even when they're toddlers.
After all, jong geleerd is oud gedaan (what is learned early is
learned welf), and in a land so full of water it's comforting to know
that your children can swim. People can swim in the sea, as well as
in lakes and ponds. But natura} bodies of water aren't of course the
only options for swimmers; every small- and medium-sized town
in the Netherlands has at least one swimming pool. For this reason
the country has produced many swimming champions.
Finally, most people who have visited the Netherlands know the
special relationship Dutch people seem to have with biking. The
Dutch are said to be bom on a bike, and it's nota terrible exaggeration to claim that everyone in the country knows how to ride a bike.
Even immigrants, who carne from countries where people do not
bike, are encouraged to master the skill on special biking courses
for Iearners. The distances and topography in the Netherlands are
suitable for biking. Driving a car into city centers is_ dif~cult,. and
parking is bath problematic and expensive. So the b1ke is an 1deal
~-1.ternative. But it's not only for practical purposes. Many people
241

make a sport out of biking, by buying racing bikes and starting to

tour in groups. Every so often one of the riders is good enough to go
professional, and perhaps to go even as far as the Tour de France.

15F. GRAMMAR

Grammar point

1: The passive voice

In Dutch, passive sentences are formed in a way similar to English,

with an auxiliary and a past participle. But the auxiliary is different. In the simple present, simple past, future, and conditional, the
auxiliary is worden (to get, to become). The past participle comes
at the end of the clause. lf you want to express the performer of
the action, use door (by). Compare the following active and passive
sentences.
Ik koop het mes.
I buy the knife. (active)

Het mes wordt door mij gekocht.

The knife is bought by me. (passive)
Ik kocht het mes.
I bought the knife. (active)
Het mes werd door mij gekocht.
The knife was bought by me. (passive)
Ik zal het mes kopen.
I will buy the knife. (active)

Het mes zal door mij worden gekocht.

The knife will be bought by me. (passive)
Ik zou het mes kopen.
I would buy the knife. (active)

Het mes zou door mij worden gekocht.

The knife would be bought by me. (passive)
In perfect t~nses, the auxiliary is zijn (to be). Take special note of
the translations. In the passive, the forms of ziJ"n (ben, ben t , is,
. z11n,
"
wbas, waren) are not translated as be, but rather as havejhasjhad
een.

Ik heb het mes gekocht.

I have bought the knife. (active)

242

Het mes is door mij gekocht.

The knife has been bought by me. (passive)

Ik had het mes gekocht.

/had hought the knife. (active)

Het mes was door mij gekocht.

The knife had heen bought by me. (passive)

If the performer of the action which c b .

d fi
.
'
an e mtroduced by door is
unknown, m e mte, or s1mply not import t
h Il
'.
h h
b.
an' 0 utc a ows pass1ve
sentences wit t e su
. iect er (there) 0 r wit h out an overt subject
Compare
t hhe fo Il owmg active and passiv

.
e examp les. Pay close at-
tent1on tot e Dutch pass1ves, which are struct d d'ff
l
from the English translations.
ure qmte 1 erent Y
Iemand belt.
Someone is at the door. (active)

Er wordt gebeld.
There's someone at the door. (passive)

Men heeft gegeten en gedronken.

People have been eating and drinking. (active)
Er is gegeten en gedronken.
People have been eating and drinking. /fhere 's been eating and
drinking going on. (passive)

U mag aan tafel niet roken!

You're not allowed to smoke at the tablet (active)

Aan tafel mag niet gerookt worden!

No smoking at the table ! (passive)

To ask by whom something is clone, use the phrase door wie. Unlike in English, you cannot split door wie, as with who ... by?
Wie had dat karwei afgemaakt?
Who had jinished that job? (active)

Door wie was dat karwei afgemaakt?

By whom had that job been finished?jWho had that job been finished
by? (passive)

Grammar point 2: Condltlonal sentances with als ... dan

Conditional sentences express suppositions or conditions that
must be met in order for something else to occur. Dutch conditional
clauses start with the conjunction s als (if), wanneer (when), indien/
ingeval (both forma!, in case), zo (formal, ij), mits (only if/provided
that) or tenzij (unless). The conditional clauses themselves are dependent, which means that the conjugated verb moves to the last
position. Just as in English, the conditional clause can come after

243

before th
the main clause (first examp le b e low ), or it may come
.
.
e

l
b
l
)
Howev
er
keep
m
mmd that
mam
clause (second examp e e ow
'
.
f
1 t h e d epen d ent clause co mes first , the main clause w1ll have verbsecond word order.
Wij blijven thuis als het morgen nog steeds regent.
We'll stay home if it's still raining tomorrow.
Als het morgen nog steeds regent, blijven we thuis.
IJ it's still raining tomorrow we'll stay home.
You can interjec t dan ( then) in to the main clause, just as in English. In that case, you can drop the conjun ction (als, etc.), as in the
second exampl e below. But you'll have to chang.e the ~rder of the
depend ent clause so that it's like a yes-no quest1o n, with the verb
first.
Als het morgen nog steeds regent, dan blijven we thuis.
IJ it's still raining tomorrow, then we'll stay home.
Regent het morgen nog steeds, dan blijven we thuis.
IJ it's still raining tomorrow, then we'll stay home.
Here are a few other exampl es of conditi onal sentenc es.
Als het regent, wordt het dak nat.

IJ it's raining, the roof will get wet.

U moet zich nu inschrij ven, mits u nog gekoze n wilt worden .

You have to register yourself, provided that you want to be elected.
Doet hij mee, dan hebben we spelers genoeg .
If he's in, then we'll have enough players.
Ik ga door, tenzij iemand bezwaa r heeft.
I'll continue, unless someone objects.

&rmmr point 3: More on condit ionals

The types of conditionals that you saw in the second gramm ar note
in this lesson can be described as possible conditions. Take the following example, which you've already seen. In it, the speaker is
indicat ing that it's entirely possible that it will still be raining tomorrow, and if it is, a certain conseq uence will follow.
Als hetmo rgen nog steeds regent, blijven we thuis.
1f it's still raining tomorrow we'll stay home.

It's also possible t-0 talk about conditions that are completely untrue
or hypothetical. Dutch uses a past tense to do this. Remember that
the past tense of zullen (zou in the singular, and zouden in the
244

 clause o f a con d.1Plural) is. translated

. as would. In Dutch , the mam
tional w1ll have e1ther a past tense or zou/zo u d en an d an m fi rnt1ve
..
The conditional or dependent clause will ha th

.
ve e same two possibilities. Th1s means. that there are four possb1t
1 1 1 1es, more or 1ess
with the same meanmg. The simple past signals that the speaker
knows that ~is, statement isn't ~rue, and zou/zouden signals that
the speaker 1sn t sure whether h1s/her statement is true or not.
1

Als ik nog jong was, zou ik het wel weten.

Jf J were still young, I would know what to do.
Als zij rijk was, zou ze de wereld over reizen.

Jf she were rich, she would travel the world.

Als je er wat van zou zeggen, zouden ze je kunnen ontslaan.
Jf you were to say something about it, they would fire you.
Past conditionals in English are expressed with if ... had in the
conditional clause, and (then) ... would have in the consequence
or main clause. In Dutch, the main clause of a past conditional will
have either a past tense and a past participle, or zou/zouden, a past
participle, and hebben or zijn. The conditional or dependent clause
will have the same two possibilities. This means again that there
are four possibilities, more or less with the same meaning.
We hadden niet gefietst, als het gisteren had geregend.
We wouldn't have biked if it had rained yesterday.

Als het gisteren geregend zou hebben, zouden we niet gefietst

hebben.
IJ it had rained yesterday, we wouldn't have biked.
Als je vroeger gekomen was, zou je hem gezien hebben.
If you had come earlier, you would have seen him.
Als we vandaag niet gewerkt zouden hebben, hadden we een
wandeling langs het strand gemaakt.
IJ we hadn't worked today, we would have taken a stroll along the
beach.

15&. READllG
Read the following short passage about Barbara's plans.

Ik zou graag een fietstocht willen maken met m~jn man. Lekk~r
rijden door de bossen of over de hei en 's nachts meen hotellet1e
slapen. Maar ik hoop wel dat het dan mooi wee~ is en dat het niet
te hard waait. Ik houd nit van regen en ook met van veel tegen245

wind. Heb je die op de heenweg tegen, dan heb je h~m ook v-~~k
op de terugweg tegen. En natregenen wil ik ook met, tenzlJ 1k
vliegensvlu g andere kleren kan aantrekken . Nee, het liefs~ wil ik,
dat de zon lekker schijnt. Als ik dan mijn hoed opzet, kan ik geen

Daarom w11 1"k gra ag 1"n de zomer fietsen en

zonnesteek kn1gen.
niet in de herfst. Dan stormt het vaak of regent het dat het giet.
1 d like to take a bike tour with my husband. Riding through the

woods or over the fields and sleeping in a little hotel_at. night. But
1 really hope that the weather is nice. and that there 1sn t toa much
wind. J don 't like ra in, or a lot of headwind either. When you have

the wind against you on the way out, yau 'll also oft~n have it against
you on the way back. And J don 't want to get wet, ezther, unless l rnn
change clothes very quickly. No, I like it the most when th~ sw1 is
shining nicely. Jf J put on my hat, I car get swz stroke. That s why l
/ike to cycle in the summer and not in the autumn. During that time
there 's aften a storm or it pours.

1Sff. CULTURE NOTE 2

Expressing intensity

In Dutch there are several ways to express degrees of intensity with

adjectives. Common phrases include words like heel (very), weinig
(little), minder (less), nauwelijks (hardly), bijna (almost), praktisch
(practically), een beetje (a bit), enigszins (somewhat [fml.}), ietsjes
(slightly) or genoeg (enough) .
To describe the highest intensity you also may use words like helemaal (totally), hoogst (highest), bijzonder (specially), buitengewoon (extraordin arily [fml.j), ongemeen (uncommo nly [fml.j) , and
hartstikke (entirely or completely [infml.j). Just as in English you
also may use words that have come to mean very, even if their
original meanings are different: zeer (painful [fml.j), erg (bad) , vreselijk (dreadfully ), verschrikk elijk (terribly), ontzetten d (appallingly), waanzinni g (mad), onwijs (unwise [infml.j). Some examples
are zeer indrukwek kend (very impressive ), erg mooi (very beautiful), vreselijk ingewikke ld (horribly complicate d), verschrikk elijk
schoon (terribly clean), ontzettend uitgebreid (very extensive) ,
hartstikke slecht (very bad [infml.j), hartstikke dood (stone-cold
dead [infml.j), onwijs gaaf (crazy good [infml.J).
Another option to express intensity is to. use compound adjectives,
adding things like super-, hyper-, mega-, or giga- to the begin246

ning. Examples are superdruk (super busy), hypernerv eus (really

nervous), megagezel lig (very cozy), gigadonke r (totally dark). In
the southern parts of the Netherlands the word kei (rock) may be
added to forma compound : keigaaf (very cool), keileuk (very nice),
keistom (very stupid). There are of course a lot of very idiomatic
compound s that are only used with particular meanings, for instance straalbezo pen, ladderzat, katjelam, and stomdronk en all
mean very drunk, which of course can be expressed in a number of
idiomatic ways in English as well. Here are a few other idiomatic
examples that have particular conventional uses.
De jurk is sneeuwwit .
The dress is snow white.
Zij had hagelwitte tanden.
She had pearl white teeth.
Ik word knettergek van die muziek.
That music drives me crazy.
Hij is stapelgek op jou!
He's crazy about you!
Another way to express intensity is to use similes, just as in English.
Again, many of these have idiomatic restrictions.
Hij is zo rood als een kreeft.
He's as red as a lobster. (He has a sunbum.)
Je bent zo rood als een biet.
You're as red as a beet. (You're embarassed.)
Zij is zo vrij als een vogel.
She's as free as a bird. (She's absolutely free.)
Hij is vogelvrij.
He 's on the run. (He's on the lam, he's an outlaw.)
Ze zijn zo gek als een deur.
. .
They're as crazy as a door. (They're out of thezr mmds.)
Hij is zo dronken als een tor.
He 's as drunk as a beetle. (He's smashed.)
Of course Dutch like any language, is full of idiomatic expressi~ns
and convention~l uses of words that you simply have to remem erl.
But the more exp~sure you get to the language ' the more natura
you'll sound.
247

EXERCISES
A. Choose a word from the list below to comp lete the dialog
ue. You
may not need to use every word in the list.
dolgra ag, dan, tenzij, als, dat, wordt , is, het, zou
Saskia: Ga jij naar het schaatsen kijken , 1 _ ____ ____ het
werk gedaan 2 _?
Martijn : Och, _ _ _ er dan geschaatst vandaag?
3
Saskia : Ja zeker. Om tien uur 4 _ __ het al
beginnen.
Martijn : Ik moet nog tot twaalf uur werken, S______
mijn baas mij eerder naar huis stuurt.
Saskia : Jouw baas doet dat wel! Hij wil zelf 6 _____ _ _
eerder naar Texel varen.
Martijn: Als hij eerder naar Texel wil, 7 _ __ zou hij
ook kunnen gaan zwemmen!

B. Change these sentences from active into passive, or from

pa ssive
into active.
I.

Hij heeft die fiets weer helemaal schoo n gemaa kt.

2.

Dat werd door hem niet goed begre pen.

3. Waar heeft zij die hoed gekocht?

4. Zij hebbe n de hele dag gezwo mmen .
5. Er werd hartelijk gelachen.
6. Dat is door de minis ter altijd al gezegd.
7. Aan wie is door jou een boek gegev en?

C. Complete with zou, zoude n, als, tenzij, or dan.

i.

Als hij naar huis wil,

2.

Als jullie de krant geleze n _ _ _ hebbe n, dan hadde

n jullie het al
geweten.

moet hij dat vrage n.

3. Henk komt om tien voor half tien met de auto _

_ _ hij moet
wacht en in de file.
'
248

. k
4 - Pietje al gegeten hebben als hii th Uts
omt.7
.
_
h
e
t
regent,
worden
de
straten
nat.
5
D. Translate the following sentences into Dutch.
1 . Would

you (fml.) bike with me to the field (he th) t

a
omorrow 1f the
weather is fine then?

want to leave the city, provided that I'm able to find a nice small
house in the country.

2. I

3- Who <lid you (infml. sg.) buy these flowers for, if you didn't do it for
me?
4. That letter was sent by an old friend who had been asked to come
to Europe.
5. People skated very fast.
6. There was no answer given by her, unless it was asked in a friendly
waybyhi m.

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE
Do a little research on the Waddenz ee and the islands around
it, such as Texel. There was a plan to drain most of that sea,
so that people could get to the islands by car. But the plan was
abandoned, and nowadays it seems certain that the Waddenzee never will be a polder. See if you can find out why by checking out sites like www.waddenzee.nl, www.waddenvereniging
.nl, and www.zeeinzicht.nl. As you're reading, be sure to record
new vocabulary in your Language Journal.

ANSWER KEY
A.i. als;

2.

is; 3. wordt; 4. zou; 5. tenzij; 6. dolgraag; 7 dan

B. 1. Die fiets is door hem weer helemaal schoon gemaakt. 2. Dat had
hij niet goed begrepen. . Waar is die hoed door haar gekoc~t?
3
4 Er is de hele dag door hen gezwommen. 5 M~n lach~~ harteh1k.
6. Dat heeft de minister altijd al gezegd. 7. Aan wie heb JIJ een boek
gegeven?
249

C. 1. dan;

2.

zouden; 3. tenzij; 4. zou; 5. als

D.i. Zou u morgen met mij naar de hei willen fietsen , als het dan
mooi weer is? 2. Ik wil de stad verlaten, mits ik een leuk huisje op
het platteland kan vinden. 3. Voor wie heb je deze bloemen gekocht,
als het niet voor mij was? 4. Die brief werd gestuurd door een oud e
vriend die gevraagd was naar Europa te komen. 5. De mensen hebben/ men heeft heel hard geschaatst/E r werd supersnel geschaatst.
6. Er werd door haar geen antwoord gegeven, tenzij het vriendelijk
door hem gevraagd werd.

250

Appendix
Strong and irregular verbs
The following table lists the more common and important Dutch
strong and irregular verbs. The first column lists the infinitive form,
along with its translation. Any present tense irregularities are also
listed in the first column. The second column lists the simple past
fonns, bath singular and plural. The third column lists the auxiliary
and the past participle.
~-- ---

-- - - -- - -

'bakken (t~ ~ak~-~~~? - _

bakte, bakten

hebben gebakken

~o burst)

barstte, barstten

zijn gebarsten

b.derven (to spoil,

go bad)

bedierf, bedierven

hebben/zijn bedorven

bedriegen (to deceive)

bedroog, bedrogen

hebben bedrogen

beginnen (to begin)

begon, begonnen

zijn begonnen

begraven (to bury)

begroef, begroeven

hebben begraven

begreep, begrepen

hebben begrepen

bergen (to store)

borg, borgen

hebben geborgen

besluiten (to decide)

besloot, besloten

hebben besloten

bevelen (to command)

beval, bevalen

hebben bevolen

bewegen (to move)

bewoog, bewogen

hebben bewogen

bezoeken (to visit)

bezocht, bezochten

hebben bezocht

bidden (to pray)

bad, baden

hebben gebeden

bieden (to offer)

bood, boden

L-- - - ---- ----- -----.---.--1

begrijpen
,,.., (to understand)

------ - - ------ -

hebben geboden
---------~----"

----

-~ - -~ - -- -- --

bijten (to bite)

beet, beten

hebben gebeten

binden (to bind, to tie)

bond, bonden

hebben gebonden

blazen (to blow)

blies, bliezen

hebben geblazen

251

blijken (to turn out)

bleek, bleken

zijn gebleken

blijven (to stay,

to remain)

bleef, bleven

zijn gebleven

blinken (to shine)

blonk, blonken

hebben geblonken

braden (to roast)

braadde, braadden

hebben gebraden

breken (to break)

brak, braken

hebben/zijn gebroken

brengen (to bring)

bracht, brachten

hebben gebracht

brouwen (to brew)

brouwde, brouwden

hebben gebrouwen

buigen (to bend)

boog, bogen

hebben/zijn gebogen

denken (to think)

dacht, dachten

hebben gedacht

doen (to do) (ik doe,

jij/u/hij/zij/het doet)

deed, deden

hebben gedaan

dragen (to carry,

to wear)

droeg, droegen

hebben gedragen

dreef, dreven

hebben/zijn gedreven

drong, drongen

hebben/zijn gedrongen

dronk, dronken

hebben gedronken

droop, dropen

hebben/zijn gedropen

dook, doken

hebben/zijn gedoken

dwingen (to force)

dwong, dwongen

hebben gedwongen

ervaren (to experience)

ervoer, ervoeren

hebben ervaren

eten (to eat)

at, aten

hebben gegeten

fluiten (to whistle)

floot, floten

hebben gefloten

gaan (to go} (ik ga,

jij/u/hij/zij/het gaat)

ging, gingen

zijn gegaan

zich gedragen
(to behave)

gedroeg, gedroegen
zich

hebben zich gedragen

gelden (to count, hold)

gold, golden

hebben gegolden

genezen {to cure)

genas, genazen

hebben/zijn genezen

genieten (to enjoy)

genoot, genoten

hebben genoten

gaf, gaven

hebben gegeven

goot, goten

hebben gegoten

: drijven (to float)

--4- - -~------ -,~-

--

- .v..-~<> - - " .... N'"

geven (to give)

4

4"" M~--~- ----

gieten (to pour)

252

,0

g1jden (to slide,

to glide)

gleed, gleden

glimmen (to shine,

glom, glommen

5parkle)

hebben/zijn gegleden
hebben geglommen

graven (to dig)

groef, groeven

grijpen (to seize,

. take hold)

greep, grepen

hebben gegrepen

(to hang)

hing, hingen

r;;bb~n (to have)

hebben gehangen

had, hadden

hebben gehad

hief, hieven

hebben geheven

hielp, hielpen

hebben geholpen

L!~~en(to b-~~~ll~d) "

heette, heetten

hebben geheten

~=-~:::~)

:~.~:.:~:~:en

hebben gehesen

! jag.en {to hunt)

joeg, joegen/jaagde,

hebben gejaagd

hebben gegraven

L."-1 hangen

i (ik heb, jij/u hebt,

i hij/zij/het heeft)

E";~l~~p)
!------~-~----

!---------------- .""".

~;.,en

.".). ."""-.""...
(to choo. "s..e

"." .". jk:ao:~::zen

hebben gehouden

hebben gekozen

kijken (to look)

keek, keken

hebben gekeken

klimmen (to dimb)

klom, klommen

hebben/zijn
geklommen

klinken (to sound)

klonk, klonken

hebben geklonken

knijpen (to pinch)

kneep, knepen

hebben geknepen

: komen (to come)

kwam, kwamen

zijn gekomen

' kopen (to buy)

kocht, kochten

hebben gekocht

kreeg, kregen

hebben gekregen

krimpen (to shrink)

kromp, krompen

zijn gekrompen

kruipen (to crawl)

kroop, kropen

hebben/zijn gekropen

kunnen (can, to be

kon, konden

hebben gekund

lachte, lachten

hebben gelachen

krijgen (to get,

to re~eive)

able) (ik kan, jij/u

kunt, hij/zij/het kan)
lachen (to laugh)

253

laten (to let, to allow)

liet, lieten

hebben gelaten

lezen (to read)

las, lazen

hebben gelezen

liegen (to teil lies)

loog, logen

hebben gelogen

liggen (to lie)

lag, lagen

hebben gelegen

lijden (to suffer)

leed, leden

hebben geleden

lijken (to seem, to

look like)

leek, leken

hebben geleken

lopen (to walk)

liep, liepen

hebben/zijn gelopen

malen (to grind)

maalde, maalden

hebben gemalen

melken (to milk)

melkte, melkten/molk,
molken

hebben gemolken

meten (to measure)

mat, maten

hebben gemeten

mijden (to avoid, to

shun)

meed, meden

hebben gemeden

moeten (must,
to have to)

moest, moesten

hebben gemoeten

mogen (may, to be
allowed to) (ik/jij/
u/hij/zij/het mag)

mocht, mochten

hebben gemogen

nam, namen

hebben genomen

ontbeet, ontbeten

hebben ontbeten

ontginnen (to reclaim

land)

ontgon, ontgonnen

hebben ontgonnen

ontwijken (to evade)

ontweek, ontweken

hebben ontweken

overleed, overleden

zijn overleden

prees, prezen

hebben geprezen

raden (to guess}

raadde, raadden/ried,
rieden

hebben geraden

rijden (to rlde, to

drive}

reed, reden

hebben/zijn gereden

rijzen (to rise)

rees, rezen

zijn gerezen

riep, riepen

hebben geroepen

roepen (to

254

call)

ruiken (to smell)

rook, roken

scheiden (to separate)

scheidde, scheidden

hebben/zijn
gescheiden

schelden (to scold)

schold, scholden

hebben gescholden

schenden (to violate)

schond, schonden

hebben geschonden

schenken (to give,

to pour)

schonk, schonken

hebben geschonken

scheppen (to create)

schiep, schiepen

hebben geschapen

, scheren (to shave,

to shear)

schoor, schoren

hebben geschoren

schieten (to shoot)

schoot, schoten

hebben geschoten

schijnen (to seem,

scheen, schenen

hebben geschenen

schreed, schreden

hebben/zijn
geschreden

! schrijven (to write)

schreef, schreven

hebben geschreven

l schrikken (to be

schrok, schrokken

zijn geschrokken

schuilen (to shelter)

school, scholen

hebben gescholen

i sch~-i~-~(t~--push)-

schoof, schoven

hebben/zijn geschoven

sloeg, sloegen

hebben/zijn geslagen

slapen (to sleep)

sliep, sliepen

hebben geslapen

slijten (to wear out)

sleet, sleten

hebben/zijn gesleten

slinken (to shrink)

slonk, slonken

zijn geslonken

sluipen (to sneak)

sloop, slopen

zijn geslopen

sloot, sloten

hebben/zijn gesloten

! to shi~~ ! schrijden (to stride)

-

hebben geroken

- ------ ---- "--- - ----- -

f------ -- --- - .

! startled)

- -----------~----

-shtan (to hit, to beat,

t~'strik) {ik sla, jij/u/

hij/zij/het slaat)

sluiten (to close)

~

"

- -'.----~Nk --

smelten (to melt)

smolt, smolten

hebben/zijn gesmolten

smijten (to throw,

to fling)

smeet, smeten

hebben gesmeten

snijden (to cut, to snip)

sneed, sneden

hebben gesneden

snoot, snoten

hebben gesnoten

snuiten (to snuff, to

blow [nose])

255

snuiven (to sniff,

to snort)

snoof, snoven

hebben gesnoven

spannen (to stretch)

spande, spanden

hebben gespannen

spijten (to be sorry)

speet, speten

hebben gespeten

spinnen (to spin)

spon, sponnen

hebben gesponnen

splijten (to split)

spleet, spleten

hebben/zijn gespleten

spreken (to speak)

sprak , spraken

hebben gesproken

springen (to jump)

sprong, sprongen

hebben/zijn
gesprongen

spruiten (to sprout)

sproot, sproten

zijn gesproten

spuiten (to spurt,

to spray)

spoot, spoten

hebben gespoten

staan (to stand) (ik

, sta, jij/u/hij/zij/het
staat)

stond, stonden

hebben gestaan

stak, staken

hebben gestoken

stal, stalen

hebben gestolen

stierf, stierven

zijn gestorven

stijgen (to rise)

steeg, stegen

zijn gestegen

stinken (to stink)

stonk, stonken

hebben gestonken

stootte, stootten/stiet,
stieten

hebben/zijn gestoten

strijden (to fight)

streed, streden

hebben gestreden

strijken (to stroke,

to iron)

streek, streken

hebben gestreken

stuiven (to dash,

to fly around)

stoof, stoven

hebben/zijn gestoven

trad, traden

zijn getreden

trof, troffen

hebben getroffen

trok, trokken

hebben getrokken

viel, vielen

zijn gevallen

ving, vingen

hebben gevangen

- -... ..

"-~ - -- - - - - --~

. ...

treden (to tread)

trekken (to pull)

256

~~ren (to sail)

voer, voeren

vechten (to fight)

vocht, vochten

verbergen (to hide)

verborg, verborgen

verbieden {to forbid)

verbood, verboden

verdwijnen
{to disappear)

verdween, verdwenen

zijn verdwenen

vergelijken {to compare)

vergeleek, vergeleken

hebben vergeleken

hebben/zijn gevaren
hebben gevochten
hebben verborgen
hebben verboden

: vergeten {to forget)

vergat, vergaten

1-~;rgeven {to forgive)

vergaf, vergaven

hebben vergeven

{to leave)

verliet, verlieten

1- ~~rli~~~~ {to lose)

hebben verlaten

verloor, verloren

hebben verloren

vermeed, vermeden

hebben vermeden

verried, verrieden/
verraadde, verraadden

hebben verraden

ve~cheen,ve~chenen

zijn verschenen

verschool zich,
verscholen zich

hebben zich
verscholen

verslond, verslonden

hebben verslonden

verstaan (to
understand , to hear)

ve~tond,ve~tonden

hebben verstaan

vertrekken (to leave,

vertrok, vertrokken

zijn vertrokken

verwijten (to blame)

verweet, verweten

hebben verweten

verzinnen (to think up)

verzon, verzonnen

hebben verzonnen

r~;~i~t~n

-~-- , -.--

- -

r -~e;mijden {to avoid)

rve;;;;;,;-ct~-b;tr.yJ
1

hebben/zijn vergeten

- ---- ---

f;rschijnen (to appear)

~-"-----
i zich verschuilen
j (to hide oneself)
~---"

1 verslinden

- ~-- -- ~ -----~-'P"'"'

(to devour)

L--------- - " ---- ------

to depart)

-- -----~-~ -~-- h~

verzwelgen (to engulf)

--

verzwolg, verzwolgen
-

- - ---~- -~- -~ - -

hebben verzwolgen

"'

vinden (to find)

vond, vonden

hebben gevonden

vlechten (to plait,

vlocht, vlochten

hebben gevlochten

vloog, vlogen

hebben/zijn gevlogen

vouwde, vouwden

hebben gevouwen

vroeg, vroegen/

hebben gevraagd

to wattle)
vliegen {to

fly)

vouwen {to fold)

; vragen {to ask)

vraagde, vraagden

257

vrat, vraten

vriezen (to freeze)

vroor, vroren

hebben/zij n gevroren

waaien (to blow,

to be windy)

waaide, waaiden/
woei, woeien

hebben/zij n gewaaid

' wassen (to wash)

waste, wasten

hebben gewassen

wegen (to weigh)

woog, wogen

hebben gewogen

werpen (to throw)

wierp, wierpen

hebben geworpen

weten (to know)

wist, wisten

hebben geweten

wijken (to give way)

week, weken

zijn geweken

wijzen (to show,

to indicate)

wees, wezen

hebben gewezen

willen (to want) (ik

wil, jij/u wilt, hij/zij/
het wil)

wilde, wilden/wo u,
wouden (infml.)

hebben gewild

winden (to wind)

wond, wonden

hebben gewonden

winnen (to win)

won, wonnen

hebben gewonnen

worden (to become)

werd, werden

zijn geworden

wreekte, wreekten

hebben gewroken

wrijven (to rub)

wreef, wreven

hebben gewreven

wringen (to wring)

wrong, wrongen

hebben gewrongen

zeggen (to say)

zei , zeiden

hebben gezegd

zenden (to send)

zond, zonden

hebben gezonden

zien (to see) (ik zie,

jij/u/hij/zij /het ziet)

zag, zagen

hebben gezien

zijn (to be) (ik ben,

jij/u bent, hij/zij/het is)

was, waren

zijn geweest

zingen (to sing)

zong, zongen

z.inken (to sink)

zonk, zonken

zitten (to sit)

zat, zaten

zoeken (to look for)

zocht, zochten

zouten (to salt)

zoutte, zoutten

wreken (to avenge)

258

hebben gevreten

vreten (to eat

[without table
manners])

hebben gezongen
hebben/zi jn gezonken
hebben gezeten
hebben gezocht
hebben gezouten

fzg~n (to suck)

zoog, zogen

r ;~1pen (to drink

hebben gezogen

zoop, zopen

hebben gezopen

alcohol)

l------ . .... '

zullen (will, shall)

'. (ik zal, jij/u zult,
l hij/zij/het zal)
1

- -

zou, zouden

- - - -- ------

iwellen (to swell)

zwol, zwollen

hebben/zijn gezwollen

;;~;~;~--(to swim)

zwom, zwommen

hebben gezwommen

zwoer, zwoeren

hebben gezworen

zweerde, zweerden/
zwoor, zworen

hebben gezworen

zwierf, zwierven

hebben gezworven

zweeg, zwegen

hebben gezwegen

-W.eren (to swear)

- -- - ~ ~-"-, - - -----~--

:;iw!f~(tr, -~-j~~rate,
'

'1'}

n (to roam)

259

260

Glossary
Dutch-Eng lish
The gender and plural (where applicable) of nouns are given in parentheses after the entry. lnseparable prefix verbs are indicated (insep.). See appendix for simple past tense and past participia! farms
of strong and irregular verbs.

A
aan
aanbieding (de; aanbiedin ge n)
aangenaam
aangeschoten
aangezien
aankleden (zich)
aankomen
aannemen
aanrecht (het; aanrechten)
aanschaffen
aanspreken
aanstelling (de ; aanstellingen)
aardrijkskunde (de)
acht
achter
achterlaten
achterneef (de; achterneven)
achternicht (de; achternichten)
achttien
acteur (de; acteurs)
actrice (de; actrices)
adres(het; adressen)
advocaat(de; advocaten)
afbeelding (de; afbeeldingen)
afbetalen
afdeling (de; afdelingen)
afdrukken
afgelasten

at, on
special offer
nice/ pleased to meet you
tipsy
since
to get dressed
to arrive
to take, to accept
counter
to purchase
to speak to, to address
appointment
geography
eight
behind
to leave behind
second cousin; grand-nephew
second cousin; grand-niece
eighteen
actor
actress
address
lawyer
picture
to pay off
department

to print
to cancel
261

aflopen
afreken en
afschuwelijk
afslaan
afsluite n
afspraa k (de; afspraken)
afsprek en
afwas doen, de ...
afwasmachine (de; afwasmachines)
afwasm iddel (het; afwasmiddelen)
al
alle
allema al
allen
alles
als
alsjeblieft
alsof
alstubl ieft
altijd
alvast
Ameri kaan (de)
Amerik aans voetbal (het)
Amerik aanse (de)
amuse ment (het)
amuse ren (zich)
ander
anders
antibio tica (de)
antwoo rden
apothe ek (de; apothe ken)
appel (de; appels /appele n)
appelt aart (de; appelta arten)
april
archite ct (de; archite cten)
arm (de; armen)
armba nd (de; armba nden)
artiest (de; artieste n)
arts (de; artsen)
assiste nt (de; assiste nten)
assiste nte (de; assiste ntes)
athene um (het; athene ums/at henea)
august us
auto (de; auto's)
avond (de;av onden )
262

to </O o// /(1 5 111 un ulum li

to ~ ettll! up. to /Hl\ ' /or

horrihle awful
maJ..e a tllrn: tn tum "!!
to close. to finish up
oppoin tment
to settle. to uy rce on
to do the dis/w-;
dishwaslwr
dishwashin9 dctcry1111
alrt>wiv . for in time i. 11,u tf
altlwug/1
all
10

<lil

evervone
evervthing
wlwn . i( in rnse
please (infinl.J . here ' '011 UI '
as Ij
p/ease {/ml.). here vnu un
always
in the meanti me
Americ an man
Amerir nnjoot hall
American woman
enterta inment
to have Jun
different, other
differently, in anotlwr wm.
otherwise
m1tihiotics (pl.)
to rPply. to w1swer
plwmw cy
uppie
apple pie
April
architect
arm
bracelet
artist
doctor

assistant (m.)
assistant (/)
high school
August
car
evening

baan (de; banen)

baas (de; bazen)
baby (de; baby's)
bad (het; baden)
bad, een ... nemen
baden
badgel (de/het; badgels)
badjas (de; badjassen)
badkamer (de; badkamers)
badkuip (de; badkuipen)
bakken
bakker (de; bakkers)
bakkerij (de; bakkerijen)
bal (de; ballen)
balen
banaan(de;ban anen)
band (de; bands)
bank(de;bank en)
bankbiljet (het; bankbiljetten)
bankier (de; bankiers)
basketbal (het)
bed (het; bedden)
bedenken
bedrijf (het; bedrijven)
bedroefd
beeldhouwwer k (het;
beeldhouwwer ken)
beeldig
beeldscherm (het; beeldschermen)
been (het; beenderen)
been (het; benen)
beetje, een ...
begane grond (de)
beginnen
begrijpen
beha (de; beha's)
behoorlijk
beide(n)
belangrijk
Belg (de)
Belgi
Belgische (de)
bemoeien met (zich)
beneden
berg (de; bergen)

job
boss
baby
bath
to take a bath
to bathe, to take a bath
bath gel
bathing suit
bathroom
bathtub
to bake, to fry
baker, baker's (shop)
bakery
balt
to befed up
banana
band
sofa, couch, bench; bank
bank note, bill
banker
basketbalt
bed
to think of to think up
company
sad
sculpture
gorgeous
monitor, screen
bone
leg
a bit
firstfloor
to begin, to start
to understand
bra
pretty, fairly, rather
both
important

Belgian man
Belgium
Belgian woman
to interfere with
downstairs
mountain
263

beroemd
beschuit (de; beschuiten)
bestaan (het)
bestand (het; bestanden)
bestand, een ... invoegen
bestand, een ... openen
bestand, een ... sluiten
bestand, een ... verzenden
bestellen
bestelling (de; bestellingen)
bestemming (de; bestemmingen)
bewolkt
bezem (de; bezems)
bezienswaardigheden bekijken
bezig
bibliotheek (de; bibliotheken)
bieden
bier (het; bieren)
bij
bijlage (de; bijlagen)
bijna
bijvoorbeeld
bijvullen
bijzonder
biljet, (het; biljetten)
biljoen (het; biljoenen)
binden
binnenblijven
binnenkrijgen
biologie (de)
bioscoop (de; bioscopen)
blad (het; bladeren)
bladzijde (de; bladzijden)
bleekmiddel (het; bleekmiddelen)
f?lender (de; blenders)
blij
blijken
blijspel (het; blijspelen)
blijven
blijven zitten
blik (het; blikken)
bliksem (de)
bloed (het)
bloem (de; bloemen)
blog (de; blogs)
blouse (de; blouses)
264

Jamous
.
hard biscuit, zw1eback, hard t(Jast,
rusk
existence, life
file
to attach a file
to open a file
to close a file
to send a file
to order; to deliver
order, delivery
destination
cloudy
broom
to go sightseeing
busy
library
to offer
beer
near, at
attachment
almost
forexample
to fill up, to refuel
specially
bill, bank note
tril/ion
to bind, to tie
to stay in
to get, to obtain
biology
movies, cinema
leaf
page
bleach
blender
happy
to turn out, to become apparent
comedy
to stay
to stay back, to repeat a grade
can
lightning
blood
flower
blog
blouse

boek (het; boeken)

boekenplank (de; boekenplanken)
boeket (het; boeketten)
boekwinkel (de; boekwinkels)
boer (de; boeren)
boerderij (de; boerderijen)
boom (de; bomen)
boot (de; boten)
bord (het; borden)
borrel (de; borrels)
borst (de; borsten)
borstkas (de; borstkassen)
bos (het; bossen)
bot (het; botten)
bouwvakker (de; bouwvakkers)
boven
bovenliggen
breken
brengen
brief (de; brieven)
briefkaart (de; briefkaarten)
brievenbus (de; brievenbussen)
bril (de; brillen)
broek (de; broeken)
broer (de; broers)
brood (het)
broodje (de; broodjes)
brug(de;bruggen)
buigen
buik (de; buiken)
buitenkomen
buitenland (het)
bureau (het; bureaus)
burgemeester (de; burgemeesters)
burgerlijk
bus (de; bussen)
buurman, buurvrouw (de; buren)

book
book shelf
bouquet
bookstore
farmer
farm
tree
baat
plate
drink
chest, breast
chest
forest, woods
bone
construction worker
upstairs
to be on top
to break
to bring
letter
post card
mailbox, mail slot
eyeglasses
pants, trousers
brother
bread
roll, bun
bridge
to bow
belly
to carne outside
abroad
desk
mayor
middleclass, bourgeois, civil
bus
neighbor

c
caf (het; cafs)
cake (de; cakes)
camera (de; camera's)
cao (de; cao's)
cateringbedrijf (het;
cateringbedrijven)
cd-rom (de; cd-roms)
cd-romspeler (de; cd romspelers)

caf, coffee shop, pub

cake
camera
collective labor agreement
catering company
CD ROM
CD ROM drive
265

cd-speler (de; cd-spelers)

chatroom (de; chatrooms)
chatten
chef (de; chefs)
chemie (de)
cijfer (het; cijfers)
circus (het; circussen)
club (de; clubs)
coach (de; coaches)
colbert (het; colberts)
collectie (de; collecties)
collega (de; collega's)
computer (de; computers)
computerspel-(letje) (het;
computerspelletjes)
concert (het; concerten)
concertzaal (de; concertzalen)
congres (het; congressen)
cultuur (de; culturen)
cursus (de; cursussen)

CD player
chat room
to chat
boss
chemistry
grade (mark at scho()/j
circus
club
coach
jacket
collect ion
colleague
computer
computer game
concert
concert hall
conference
culture
course

D
daarvandaan
dag!
dag (de; dagen)
dagmenu (het; dagmenu's)
dak (de; daken)
dame (de; dames)
dan
dancing (de; dancings)
dank je
danku
dank u wel!

dansen
dat
de
december
deelnemen
deelnemer (de; deelnemers)
deeltijds
deleten
denken
deodorant (de; deodorants)
dertien
dertig
desktop (de; desktops)
deur (de; deuren)
266

from there
good-bye!, heila (injm/.)
day
menu of the day
roof
lady
in that case, then
dance hall
thank you (infml.)
thank you (fml.)
thank you very much'
to dance
that (+het-word), that (co nj.)
the (+de-word or pl.}
December
to participate, to attend
participant, attendee
part-time
to delete
to think
deodorant
thirteen
thirty
desktop
door

deze
dezelfde
dichtbij
dichtdoen
die
dier (het; dieren)
dierenarts (de; dierenartsen)
dierentuin (de; dierentuinen)
dik
diner (het; diners)
dineren
dinsdag
dinsdags
diploma (het; diploma's)
directeur (de; directeuren/
directeurs)
directie (de; directies)
dit
dochter (de; dochters)
d0CUD1ent(het;documenten)
document, een ... opslaan
documentaire (de; documentaires)
doen
dokter (de; dokters)
dollar (de; dollars)
donder (de)
donderdag
donderdags
dooddrukken
door
doorbreken
doordat
doorkruisen
doorwerken
doos(de;dozen)
dorp (het; dorpen)
dossier (het; dossiers)
dossierkast (de; dossierkasten)
douche (de; douches)
douche, een ... nemen
douchen
downloaden
draadloos
dragen
drank(de;dranken)
drie
drinken

this (+de-word), these

the same
near
to close
that (+ de-word), those
ani mal
veterinarian
zoo
fat
dinner
to dine
Tuesday
on Tuesdays
diploma
manager
management
this (+het-word)
daughter
document
to save a document
documentary
to do
doctor
dollar
thunder
Thursday
on Thursdays
to crush to death
through, by
to burst, to break
owing to
to traverse (insep.)
to keep on working
box, carton
village
file
file cabinet

shower
to take a shower
to take a shower
to download
wireless
to wear, to carry
drink
three
to drink
267

droger (de; drogers)

drogist (de; drogisten)
drogisterij (de; drogisterijen)
droog
druif (de; druiven)
druk
druk hebben, het
drukken
dsl (de)
duin (het; duinen)
Duits (het)
Duitsland
duizend (de; duizenden)
dun
duren
durven
dus
duwen
dvd-speler (de; dvd-spelers)

dryer
pharmacist, chemist; pharmucy,
chemist's
drugstore
dry
grape
busy
to be busy
to press, to push
DSL

dune
German
Germany
thousand
thin
to last
to dare
so, therefore
to push
DVD player

E
eau de cologne (de; eau de colognes)
echt?
echtgenoot(de;echtgen oten)
echtgenote (de; echtgenotes/
echtgenoten)
een
eerder
eergisteren
eerst
eerste
eerste hulp
eerste verdieping (de)
eetkamer (de; eetkamers)
ei (het; eieren)
eigen
eigenlijk
eiland (het; eilanden)
eind (het; einden)
eindigen
eisen
elektrazaak (de; elektrazaken)
elektricien (de; elektriciens)
elf
elk (elke)
elleboog(de;ellebogen )
268

cologne
really?
husband
wife
one, a, an
earlier
the day before yesterday
first, at first
first (sequentially)
first aid
second floor
dining room
egg
own
really, actually
is/and
distance
to end
to demand
electronics store
electrician
eleven
each, every
elbow

e-mail (de; e-mails)

e-rnail, een ... ver-zenden, sturen
e-rnailen
en
eng
Engels (het)
Engelse (de)
Engelsman (de)
Engeland
enig
enige tijd geleden
enigszins
enkel (de; enkels)
ergeren (zich)
ergonomisch
eronder
erven
eten
eten (het)
etui (het; etuis)
euro (de; euro's)
even
examen (het; examens)
examen, een ... afleggen/doen
examen, een ... afnemen
examen, voor een .. . slagen
examen, voor een ... zakken
excuses.!

.ma

e-mail
to send an e-mail
to e-mail
and
scary
English
English woman
Englishman
Eng land
lovely; some (adj.)
some time ago
somewhat (fml)
ankle
to get angry
ergonomie
underneath
to inherit
to eat
food
(pen/ pencil) case
Euro
for a short while
exam
to take an exam
to examine, to give an exam
to pass an exam
to fait an exam
my apologies !
special

F
fabriek (de; fabrieken)
familielid (het; familieleden)
favorite
fax (de; faxen)
faxapparaat (het; faxapparaten)
februari ~'

feest (het; feesten)

feest, een ... houden
festival (het; festivals)
fiets (de; fietsen)
fietsen
fietspad (het; fietspaden)
fietstocht (de; fietstochten)
fijnmaken
file (de; files)
filiaal (het; filialen)

factory
relative
favorite
fax machine
fax machine
February
party
to have a party
festival
bike
to cycle, to bike
bike path
bike tour
to pulverize, to crush fine
file

branch
269

film (de; filialen)

flat (de; flats)
flatgebouw (het; flatgebouwen)
flatscreen (de; flatscreens)
fles (de; flessen)
folder (de; folders)
fooi (de; fooien)
formulier (het; formulieren)
fornuis (het; fornuizen)
foto, een ... nemen
fotoprogramma (het;
fotoprogramma's)
Frankrijk
Frans (het)
frisdrank (de; frisdranken)
fruit (het)
fulltime

G
gaan
galerie (de; galerien)
gang (de; gangen)
gans (de; ganzen)
garnaal (de; garnalen)
gebeuren
geboortedag (de)
gebouw (het; gebouwen)
gedragen (zich)
geen
Gefeliciteerd!
geheel
geheugen (het; geheugens)
gerriteerd
geld (het)
geldautomaat (de; geldautomaten)
gelijkspelen
geloven
geluidssysteem (het;
geluidssystemen)
gemakkelijk
gemeente (de; gemeentes/
gemeenten)
gemeentehuis(het;gemeentehuizen)
generen (zich)
genoeg
gepensioneerd
geschiedenis (de; geschiedenissen)
270

movie,film
apartment
apartment building
fiat screen
battle
brochure
tip
form
stove
to take a picture
photo program
France
French
soft drink
fruit
full-time

to go
gallery
hall
goose
shrimp
to happen
day of birth
building
to behave
no, not a, not any
Congratulations !
entire, whole
memory
irritated
money
ATM

to tie (a game)
to believe
sound system
easy
town, municipality
municipal building, town hall
to be embarrassed
enough
retired
history

getalenteerd
geven
geweldig
gewoon
gezellig
gezicht (het; gezichten)
gezond
gisteren
glas (het; glazen)
goed
goed eruitzien
goed maken, het -. ..
Goedemiddag!
Goedemorgen!
Goedenavond!
goedkeuren
googelen
gootsteen (de; gootstenen)
gordijn (het; gordijnen)
graad (de; graden)
graag gedaan
graag willen
gracht (de; grachten)
grafisch
grap (de; grappen)
grappig
gras (het; grassen)
Grieks (het)
griep (de)
groente (de; groentes/groenten)
groenteboer (de; groenteboeren)
groentesoep (de; groentesoepen)
groot
grootmoeder (de; grootmoeders)
grootvader (de; grootvaders)
gym (de)
gymnasium (het; gymnasiums/
gymnasia)
gymnastiek (de)
gymschoen (de; gymschoenen)

talente<i
to yive
terri/ic, tremerulous
common

cozy
fa ce
healthy
yesterday
glass
good, wel/, fine , okay, alright
to look good
to do wel/
Good afternoon!
Good morning!
Good evening !
to approve
to Google
sink (kitchen)
curtain
degree
you're welcome, don 't mention it
to like to
canal
graphic
joke
f unny
grass
Greek

flu
vegetable
greengrocer, greengrocer's shop
vegetable soup
big, tall
grandmother
grandfather
gym
high school (with Latin and Greek}
gym, PE
sneaker

H
haar (het/de; haren)

haar ('r)

hair
her, her (obj.)

, haasten (zich)
':hagelslag (de)

to hurry
chocolate sprinkles

l~~elt, het ...

it's hailing

271

hal (de; hallen)

Hallo!
halskettin g (de; halskettingen)
halte (de; haltes)
ham (de; hammen)
hand(de; handen)
handdoe k(de;han ddoeken )
handel (de)
handscho en(de;ha ndschoen en)
hangen
hardware (de)
hart (het; harten)
havo (de; havo's)
hebben
heel
heengaan
heenweg (de)
heer (de; heren)
heerlijk
heet
heet, het is ...
hei (de; heiden)
hek (het; hekken)
helaas
helemaal
helemaal niet
helft (de; helften)
helpen
hem('m)
hemd (het; hemden)
hemel (de; hemelen)
hen
herfst (de)
herinner en (zich)
hersenen (de)
hersens (de)
herstelle n (zich)
het ('t)
heten
heuvel (de; heuvels)
hier

hij
hip

272

hockey (het)
hoe gaat het?
hoeheet je?
hoe heet u?

hall
Hella!
necklace
stop
ham
hand
towel
business
glove
to hang
hardware
heart
higher secondar y school
to have
very
to go away
way there, way towards somethin
9
gentlema n
delicious
hot
it's hot
field, heath, heather
gate,fenc e
unfortuna tely
totally, entirely, completely
not at all
half
to help
him (obj.)
shirt
sky
them (with people)
autumn, fall
to remembe r
bra in
bra in
to recover
it, the(+ het-word)
to be called
hili
here
he
hip, trendy
hockey
how's it going?
what's your name ? (infml.)
what's your name? ({ml.)

boe rnaakt u het?

how do you do? (fml.)

how?
hat

}loe?

hoed (de; hoeden)

hoeveel?
hoewel
hogeschool (de; hogescholen)
hond(de;honden)
honderd (de; honderden)
honing (de)
honkQal (het)
hoofd (het; hoofden)
hoofdgerecht (het; hoofdgerechten)

how much?, how many?

although

hoop, een ...

horen bij
horloge (het; horloges)
hotel (het; hotels)
houden
houden van
hout (het)
houten
huid (de; huiden)
kuis (het; huizen)
huisarts (de; huisartsen)
huiskamer (de; huiskamers)
huiswerk {het)
huiswerk maken
huiswijn (de; huiswijnen)
hun
huwen
hypotheek(de;hypotheken)

college (with Bachelor's degree)

.
dog
hundred
honey
baseball
head
main course
high
a lot
to belong to
watch
hotel
to hold
to love
wood
wooden
skin
house, home
family doctor
living room
homework
to do homework
house wine
their; them (ind. obj.)
to marry
mortgage

ieder (iedere)
iedereen
iemand

every,each, everybody,everyone
everybody, everyone
somebody, someone, anybody,

iets
ietsjes
ijsje (het; ijsjes)
ijzer (het)
ijzerhandel (de; ijzerhandels)

anyone
sornething/anything
slightly
ice crearn (cone)
iron
hardware store

ik

in

in, into
on one's own, alone
to check in
to classify

hoog

in zijn (z'n) eentje

inchecken
A'ldelen

273

indien
informatica (de)
informatiecentrum (het;
informatiecentra)
ingenieur (de; ingenieurs)
ingeval
instant message (de; instant
messages)
intelligent
interessant
internet (het)
internetten
internetverbinding (de;
internetverbindingen)
invullen

in case ([ml.)
computer science
information center
engineer
in case ([ml.)
instant message
intelligent
interesting
internet
to use the internet
internet connection
to fill out

J
ja
jaar (het; jaren)
jack (het; jacks)
januari
jas (de; jassen)
jawel
je
jeans (de)
jenever (de; jenevers)
jeugdherberg (de; jeugdherbergen)
jij
jong
jongen (de; jongens)
jou
~oumalist (de; journalisten)
JOUW

juli
jullie
juni

jurk (de; jurken)

yes
year
jacket
fanuary
coat
yes, indeed
you; your (infml. sg.)
jeans
Dutch gin
youth hostel
you (infml. sg.)
young
boy
you (infml. sg.) (obj.)
journalist
your (infml. sg.)
fuly
you; your (infml. pl.)
f une
dress

K
kaart (de; kaarten)
kaarten (de)
kaartje (het; kaartjes)
kaas (de; kazen)
kabel (de; kabels)
kachel (de; kachels)
kamer (de; kamers)
kamperen
274

map
cards
ticket
cheese
cab Le
stove
room
to go camping

kaJ11pioen (de; kampioenen)

kanaal (het; kanalen)
kanaalzwemmen
kant (de; kanten)
kantoor (het; kantoren)
kapsalon (de; kapsalons)
kapstok (de; kapstokken)
karaf (de; karaffen)
kassa (de; kassa's)
kast (de; kasten)
katoen (het)
keel (de; kelen)
keelpijn (de)
keldei: (de; kelders)
kennen
kerk (de; kerken)
keuken (de; keukens)
keyboard (het; keyboards)
kiezen
kijken
kin (de; kinnen)
kind (het; kinderen)
kinderboerderij (de;
kinderboerderijen)
kip (de; kippen)
klaarzetten
klant (de; klanten)
klarinet (de; klarinetten)
klas (de; klassen)
klassiek
kleding
kledingzaak (de; kledingzaken)
klein
kleindochter (de; kleindochters)
kleinkind (het; kleinkinderen)
kleinzoon (de'; kleinzonen/-zoons)
kleur (de; kluren)
kleurencombinatie (de; -combinaties)
klok (de; klokken)
klokslag
knie (de; knien)
koelkast (de; koelkasten)
koffie (de)
koffiezetapparaat (het;
koffiezetapparate n)
koken
kom (de; kommen)

champion
channel
to channel surf
direction, way; side
office
hairdresser's
hat stand, hat rack
carafe
cash
cup board
cotton
throat
sore throat
cellar, basement
to know (a person)
church
kitchen
keyboard
to choose
to look, to watch
chin
child
petting zoo
chicken
to make ready
dient, customer
clarinet
classroom; class (group)
classica!
clothing
clothing store, dress shop
small, little, short
granddaughter
grandchild
grandson
color
color combination
clock
right at (a time)
knee
refrigerator
coffee

coffee maker
to cook
bowl

275

komt"die (de; komedies)

komen
komende
komkommer (de; komkommers)
kooi (de; kooien)
koorts (de; koortsen)
kop (de; koppen)
kopen
kopiren
kopje (het; kopjes)
kort
korte broek (de; broeken)
kostuum (het; kostuums)
koud
koud, het is ...
kous (de; kousen)
krant (de; kranten)
kreeft (de; kreeften)
krentenbol (de; -bollen)
krijgen
kromtrekken
kruidenier (de; kruideniers)
kruising (de; kruisingen)
kundig
kunnen
kunst (de; kunsten)
kuur (de; kuren)
kwijtraken

comedy
to come
next (as in day of the week)
cucumber
cage
fever
cup
to buy
to copy

cup
short
shorts
suit
cold
it's cold
stocking
newspaper
tobster
currant bun
to get, to receive, to obtain
to warp
grocer, grocery store
intersection
capable, skilled, experienced
can, to be able to
art
cure, treatment
to lose

L
la (de; la's)
laars (de; laarzen)
lachen
lachen, zich een bult ...
ladder (de; ladders)
lade (de; lades/laden)
lamp (de; lampen)
lamsbout (de; lamsbouten)
land (het; landen)
landelijk
lang
lang geleden
langs
langsgaan
langskomen

276

lantaarnpaal (de; lantaarnpalen)

laptop (de; laptops)

drawer
boot
to Laugh
to laugh hysterically
Ladder
drawer
Lamp
leg of Lamb
Land
rural
long
long ago
by, alongside
to visit, to stop by
to come over
lamp post
Laptop

lastig
laten
laten zien
Latijn (het)
leeg
leegeten, z'n bord ...
leer (het)
leerling (de; leerlingen)
leeuw (de; leeuwen)
lekker
lekker vinden
lelijk
lenen
lening (de; leningen)
lente (de; lentes)
lepel (de; lepels)
leraar (de; leraren)
lerares (de; leraressen)
leren
letterkunde (de)
leuk
leuk vinden
leven (het; levens)
lezen
lichaam (het; lichamen)
lied (het; liederen)
liever willen
lift (de; liften)
liggen
lijken
links
linksaf
literatuur (de; literaturen)
lokettist (de; lokettisten)
long (de; longen)
loniontstek ing (de;
lopgontstek ingen)
loodgieter (de; loodgieters)

lo~r

lo~~tle rekening (de;

rek~ningen)
luchthaven (de; luchthaven s)
luchtpost (de)
lukken
lunch (de; lunches)
lunchen
luxebroodje (het; luxebroodje s)

difficult
to let, to allow
to show
Latin
empty
to clean one's plate
leather
student (elementary or high school)

/zon

tasty, delicious
to like
ugly
to !end, to borrow
loan
springtime
spoon
teacher (m.)
teacher {j.)
to leam, to tea ch
Literary Studies
good, nice, funny, pleasant, amusing
to enjoy, to like
life
to read
body
song
to prefer
elevator
to /i e (down); to be (located)
to look (a)like; to seem
to the left
to the left
literature
clerk
lung
pneumonia
plumber
to walk

checking account
airport
airmail
to succeed
lunch
to have lunch

roll, bun

277

M
maag (de; magen)
maan (de; manen)
maand (de; maanden)
maandag
maandags
maar
maart
maat (de; maten)
magnetron (de; magnetrons)
mama (de; mama's), mamma
(de; mamma's)
man (de; mannen)
mantel (de; mantels)
markt (de; markten)
me
medicijnkast (de; medicijnkasten)
meegaan
meekomen
meer
meer(het;meren)
meerprijs (de; meerprijzen)
meezitten
mei
meisje (het; meisjes)
melk (de)
meneer (de; meneren)
menigte (de; menigtes)
mens (het; mensen)
mens (de)
menukaart (de; menukaarten)
merken
mes (het; messen)
met
met wie?
meteen
metro (de; metro's)
metselaar (de; metselaars)
meubel (het; meubels)
mevrouw (de; mevrouwen)
middag (de; middagen)
mij
mijn
miljard (het; miljarden)
miljoen (het; miljoenen)
minder
278

sto111111h
lllO<lll

Tlltlllth
i\fo11d11v
011 1\fo11d11vs

hut: only. just

,\ tarch

si:.:e
microwavc
mom
man. lwsba11d
coat
mark et
me
medicine cabi11et
to go with, to accompany
to come along. to accompany
more
fake
extra charge, additional cost
to be favorable, to go wel!, to work out
May
girl
milk
Mr., sir
crowd
person, pl.: people
man (mankind)
menu
to note, to notice
knife
with
with whom?
just

subway, metro
bricklayer
piece offurniture
Mrs., ma'am
afternoon
me
my
billion
mil/ion
less

minuut (de; minuten)

misdragen (zich)
misgaan
mist (de)
mits
mixer (de; mixers)
mode (de; modes)
modem (de/het; modems)
moeder (de; moeders)
moeilijk
moeten
mogen
mond (de; monden)
monitor (de; monitors)
monument (het; monumenten)
mooi
morgen
morgen (de; morgens)
moskee (de; moskeen)
msn'en
muis (de; muizen)
muizenval (de; muizenvallen)
museum (het; museums/musea)
musicus (de; musici)
muur (de; muren)
muziek (de)

minute
to misbehave
to go wrong
Jog
only if, provided that
blender
Jashion
modem
mother
difficult, hard
to have to, must
may
mouth
monitor, screen
monument
beautiful
tomorrow
morning
mosque
to useMSN
mouse
mousetrap
museum
musician
wal!
music

N
na
naam (de; namen)
naar
naar buiten
naar verhouding
naast
nabootsen
nacht (de; nachten)
nachtclub (de; nachtclubs)
nadat
nagerecht (het; nagerechten)
natregenen
natuur (de)
natuurgebied (het; natuurgebieden)
natuurkunde (de)
natuurlijk!
nauwelijks

Nederland
Nederlander (de)

aft er
name
to
outside
comparatively, proportionately
next to
to copy, to imitate
night
night club
after

dessert course
to get wet in the rain
nature
nature reserve
physics
. of course!
hardly
The Netherlands
Dutchman
279

Nederland s (het)
Nederland se (de)
nee
neef(de;n even)
neerleggen
negen
negentien
negentig
nek (de; nekken)
nemen
net
netwerk (het; netwerken )
netwerkbe heer (het)
netwerkve rbinding (de;
netwerkve rbindingen )
neus (de; neuzen)
nicht (de; nichten)
niemand
niet
niets
niets te danken
nieuw
nieuws (het)
niks
nooit
noteren
notitieboe kje (het; notitieboe kjes)
november
nul

Dutch
Dutch woman
no
nephew, cousin (m.)
to lay down, to put down
nine
nineteen
ninety
neck
to take
just, exactly
network
network administration
network connection
no se
niece, cousin {f)
nobody, no one, none
not
nothing
you're welcome, it's nothing
new
the news
nothing, zilch (infml.)
never
to write down
notebook
November
zero

0
ober (de; obers)
oceaan(de ;oceanen)
of
oktober
om

280

oma (de; oma's)

omdat
omkiepen
onder
onderbro ek(de;ond erbroeken )
ondergaa n
onderhem d (het; onderhemden)
ondernem ing (de; ondernem ingen)
onderwer p (het; onderwerpen)
onderwer pen
onderwijz er (de; onderwijzers)

waiter
ocean
whether, if or
October
around, at (a time)Jor (a reason)
grandmoth er
because
to tip over
under, among
underpant s
to go down, to sink
undershirt
company
subject
to subject (insep.)
instructor

ons
ons, onze
ontbijt (het; ontbijten)
ontbijten
ontmoeten
ontslaan
onvriendelijk
oog (het; ogen)
ook
oom (de; ooms)
oor (het; oren)
oorbel (de; oorbellen)
op
opa (de; opa's)

opbellen
opdat

opdrijven
openleggen
opera (de; opera's)
ophalen
ophangen
opletten
opnemen
opruimen
opstaan
opvallend
opvangen
opwindend
orkaan{de; orkanen)
orkest (het; orkesten)
oud
ouder (de; ouders)
oven (de; ovens)
over
overgaan
overgeven (zich)
overhebben (+ voor)
overhemd (het; overhemde n)
overhoring (de; overhoring en)
overkant (de)
overkant, aan de ...

US

our
breakfast
to have breakfast
to meet
to disdiarge
, (insep)
,
, 1o cJ'1sn11ss
unfnendly
eye
also, too
uncle
ear
earring
on, in
grandfather
to call (up) , to phone
in order to
to drive up, to jrce up
to reven/, to lay open
opera, opera house
to collect
to hang up
to pay attention
to withdraw (money)
to tidy up, to straighten up
to get up
showy, remarkable
to catch, to take care of
exciting
hurricane
orchestra
old
parent
oven
over, above, across, about
to move up
to surrender
to be prepared to, to have enough for
shirt
test (oral)
the other side, the opposite
on the other side, opposite (of the
street, water)

overkoken

, ,~erloop (de; overlopen)

'J)Ye,rmorgen
: ~steken

to boil over
landing

the day after tomorrow

to cross (over)
281

282

P&O (personeel en organisatie) (de)

pagina (de; pagina's)
pak (het; pakken)
pakke t (het; pakket ten)
papa (de; papa's), pappa
(de; pappa's)
parapl u (de; paraplu's)
parfum (het/de; parfum s)
park (het; parken )
parttim e
pas (de; passen)
paspoo rt (het; paspoo rten)
pasgeb oren
paspoo rt (het; paspoo rten)
passen d
peer (de; peren)
pees (de; pezen)
peper (de; pepers)
person eel (het)
person eelsch ef (de; personeelchefs)
persoo n (de; person en)
pet (de; petten )
pijn (de; pijnen)
pijn doen
pijnsti ller (de; pijnstillers)
pinnen
pinpas (de; pinpas sen)
plaatje (het; plaatjes)
plafon d (het; plafonds)
plakke n
plank (de; planke n)
plant (de; plante n)
plastic
plastic (het; plastics)
platlig gen
platteg rond (de; platteg ronden )
plattel and (het)
ploeg (de; ploege n)
poede r (het/de ; poeder s)
poetse n
politie man (de; politie manne n)
politie vrouw (de; politie vrouw en)
pols (de; polsen )
poolbi ljart (het)
porto (de/he t; porto's /porti)

HR, human resources

page
suit
package, parcel
dad
umbrella
perfum e
park
part-time
pass
pas sport
newbom
pas sport
suitable, approp riate
pear
tendon
pep per
staff
personnel manag er
person
cap
pain
to hurt
painkiller
to use an ATM card (with PIN)
bank/A TM card
picture
ceiling
to stick
shelf
plant
plastic, made of plastic
plastic
to be at a stands till
street map
countr yside
team
powde r
to clean, to brush
pqlice man
police woman
wrist
pool, billiar ds
postag e

l"l.."'tkantoor (het: postkantoren)

po."ut-gt>I (de; postzegels)
pradtprogramma (twt;
praatprogramma's)
prnthtig
prnktisch

ptttpark (het; pretparken)

prt>ttig

prijs (de: prijzen)

prima

printen
printer (de: printers)
proberen
proefwerk (het; proefwerken)
proeven
professor (de; professors/
professoren)
programma (het; programma's)
pyjama (de; pyjama's)

post oflice
stamp

tal/... show
greot . marvelous
practica/ly
amusement park, funfair
nice, pleasant
price
excellent
to print
printer
to try
test (written)
to taste
professor
program
pajamas

R
raam (het; ramen)
rapport (het; rapporten)
rat (de; ratten)
receptie (de; recepties)
recht tegenover
rechtbuigen
rechtdoor
rechts
rechtsaf
reeds
regel (de; regels)
regen (de; regens)
regent, het ...
rekenen
rekenen op
rekening (de; rekeningen)
rente (de; rentes)
reserveren
reservering (de; reserveringen)
restaurant (het; restaurants)
reuma (de)
riem (de; riemen)
rij (de; rijen)
rijden
rijst (de)
ring (de; ringen)

window
report card
rat
reception desk
straight across
to straighten
straight ahead
to the right
to the right
already (fml.)
rule
rain
it's raining
calculus
to count on
bill, check, account
interest
to reserve
reservation
restaurant
rheumatism
belt
line, row, queue
to ride, to drive
rice
ring

283

rivier (de; rivieren)

roepe n
rok (de; rokken)
rommel (de)
rond
rondg aan
rondk ijken
rondleiding (de; rondleidingen)
rondlo pen
rondto eren
rondvaartboot (de; rondv aartbo ten)
rookw orst (de; rookworsten)
rots (de; rotsen)
ruiken
ruilen
rundvlees (het)
rust (de)

river
to call

skirt
mess
around (a time)
to go around' to circulate
to look around
guided tour
to walk around, to take a walk
around
to go sightseeing
tour baat
smoke d sausage
rock
to smell
to exchange
beef
rest

s
's avonds
's maan dags
's middags
's morge ns
saai
salaris (het; salarissen)
samen
samen werke n
sap (het; sappen)
scann en
scann er (de; scanners)
schaa tsen
scham en (zich)
schap (de;sc happe n)
schee rappa raat (het;
schee rappa raten)
schee rcrm e (de; scheercrmes)
scheid en
scheid en van (iemand)
schei kunde (de)
schele n
scher en
schijn en
schild erij (het/d e; schild erijen )
schip (het; schep en)
schoe n(de; schoe nen)
schoe nen zaak (de; schoe nenza ken)
284

in the evening
on Monday
in the afternoon
in the morning
boring
salary
together
to cooperate
juice
to scan
scanner
to skate
to be asham ed
shelf
razor
shaving cream
to get a divorce
to divorce (someone)
chemi stry
to be the matte r
to shave
to seem, to shine
painti ng
ship
shoe

shoe store

schol (de; schollen)

school (de; scholen)
schoon
schoonmoeder (de;
schoonmoeders)
schoonvader (de; schoonvaders)
schoonzus (de; schoonzussen)
schouder (de; schouders)
schouwburg (de; schouwburgen)
schrijfster (de; schrijfsters)
schrijven
schrijver (de; schrijvers)
schrikken, zich rot ...
schuin tegenover
secretaresse (de; secretaresses/
secretaressen)
secretaris (de; secretarissen)
september
serveerster (de; serveersters)
shampoo (de; shampoos)
sinaasappel (de; sinaasappels/
sinaasappelen)
sinds
sjaal (de; sjaals)
sla (de)
slaan
slaapkamer (de; slaapkamers)
slagen
slager (de; slagers)
slagerij (de; slagerijen)
slagroom (de)
slak (de; slakken)
slapen
slechts
slim
slot doen, op . . .
slot, op ...
sluiten
smal
smog (de)
sms'en
sneeuw (de)
sneeuwt, het ...
snel
software (de)
sok (de; sokken)
sommigen

f/ounder, plaice
school
clean
mother-in-law
father-in-law
sister-in-law
shoulder
theater, play house
writer {f.)
to write
writer (m.)
to be scared stiff
diagonally across
secretary (f.) (assistant)
secretary (m. or f)
September
waitress
shampoo
orange
si nee
scarf
salad, lettuce
to hit
bedroom
to pass
buteher; buteher's (shop)
buteher shop
whipped cream, whipping cream
snail, slug
to sleep
only, just, merely
smart
to loek
loeked
to close
narrow
smog
to text message
snow
it's snowing
Jast
software
soek
some (people)

285

spaarrekening (de;
spaarrekeningen)
spalken
speelgoedwinkel (de;
speelgoedwinkels)
speelkaarten (de)
speelster (de; speelsters)
speeltuin (de; speeltuinen)
spel (het; spelen)
spel, een ... spelen
speler (de; spelers)
spellen
spelletje (het; spelletjes)
spiegel (de; spiegels)
spieken
spier (de; spieren)
spijkerbroek (de; spijkerbroeken)
sport, een ... beoefenen
sprankelend
spreken
spuitwater (het)
staan
stad (de; steden)
stadhuis (het; stadhuizen)
stadion (het; stadions)
standaard
stappen

286

station (het; stations)

stedelijk
steeds
steeg (de; stegen)
stelen
ster (de; sterren)
sterk
sterven
stiefdochter (de; stiefdochters)
stiefkind (het; stiefkinderen)
stiefmoeder (de; stiefmoeders)
stiefvader (de; stiefvaders)
stiefzoon (de; stiefzonen/-zoon s)
stil
stoel (de; stoelen)
stoep (de; stoepen)
stoplicht (het; stoplichten)
storm (de; stormen)

savings account
to put in a splint
toy store
playing cards
player {f.}
playground
game; pl.: toumament (e.g.,
Olympische Spelen)
to play a game
player (m.}
to spel!
game
mirror
to copy, to cheat by copying (infml.j
muscle
jeans
to play a sport
radiant, sparkling
to speak
soda
to stand (up); to be (located)
city, town
city hall
stadium
standard
to go out (to dinner, movies, for
drinks, etc.)
(train) station
urban
always
alley
to steal
star

strong
to die

stepdaughter
stepchild
stepmother
stepfather
stepson
quiet
chair
sidewalk
traffic light
storm

straat (de; straten)

straatlanta arn (de; straatlanta arns)
straks
strand (het; stranden)
strijkijzer (het; strijkijzers)
strijkplank (de; strijkplank en)
student (de; studenten)
studente (de; studentes)
studeren
studiebol (de; studiebollen)
studiekeuze (de;
studiekeuzes/-keuzen)
stuk (het; stukken)
stuk of tien, een ...
stuk, per ...
stukje (het; stukjes)
sturen
suiker (de)
supermark t (de; supermark ten)
surfen

street
street light
soon
beach
iron (clothes)
ironing board
student (m.)
student (f.)
to study
bookworm
choice of studies
piece
about ten
apiece, in singles, separately
little piece
to send
sugar
supermark et
to surf

T
taal (de; talen)
tachtig
tafel (de; tafels)
talentvol
talkshow (de; talkshows )
tamelijk
tand (de; tanden)
tandarts (de; tandartsen )
tante (de; tantes)
taxi (de; taxi's)
taxichauff eur (de; taxichauff eurs)
te
team (het; teams)
teen (de; tenen)
teenager (de; teenagers )
tegelijk
tegen
tegenover
tegenvalle n
tegenwind (de; tegenwind en)
tekenen
tekening (de; tekeninge n)
tekstboek (het; tekstboek en)
tekstverw erker
(de; tekstverw erkers)

language
eighty
table
talented
talk show
rather
tooth
dentist
aunt
taxi
taxi driver
to (before vb.), too (before adj.)
team
toe
teenager
at the same time
against
across (from}
to disappoint
headwind
to draw
drawing
textbook
word processor
287

288

telephone
telephone number

telefoon (de; telefoons)

telefoonnummer (het;
telefoonnummers)
televisie (de; televisies)
televisie kijken
televisieprogramma
(het; -programma's)
temmen
tempel (de; tempels)
temperatuur (de; temperaturen)
tenminste
tennis (het)
tennisschoen (de; tennisschoenen)
tenzij
terugkeren
terugweg (de)
terwijl
tevoren, van ...
theater (het; theaters)
thee (de)
themapark (het; themaparken)
theoretisch
thuis
thuisblijven
ticket (het; tickets)
tien
tiener (de; tieners)
tijd (de; tijden)
tijdens
tijdschrift (het; tijdschriften)
timmerman (de; timmermannen)
titel (de; titels)
tjonge!
toch
toen
toerist (de; toeristen)
toetje (het; toetjes)
toets (de; toetsen)
toetsenbord (het; toetsenborden)
toevoegen
toilet (het; toiletten)
toiletpapier (het)
tomaat (de; tomaten)
toneelstuk (het; toneelstukken)
tong (de; tongen)
topje (het; topjes)

to tame
temple
temperature
at least
tennis
tennis shoe
unless
to turn back, to return
way back
as, while
in advance
theater
tea
theme park
theoretica!
at home
to stay home
ticket
ten
teenager
time
during
magazine
carpenter
degree
wow!, boy!
yet
when (+ past tense)
tourist
dessert
test
keyboard
to add to, to attach
bathroom, toilet
toilet paper
tomato
play, drama
tongue
tank top

tot

to, asfar as, until

television
to watch television

television program

tot ziens
touringcar (de; touring-cars)
tram (de; trams)
trap (de; trappen)
trein (de; treinen)
troep (de; troepen)
trottoir (het; trottoirs)
trouwen
rrouwens
trU (de; truien)
T-shirt (het; T-shirts)
tuin (de; tuinen)
tussen
tv (de; tv's)
tv kijken

tv-programma (het; tv-programma's)

twaalf
twee
tweede
twintig

see you again, good-bye

tour bus
streetcar
stair, step
train
bunch, mess
sidewalk
to marry
by the way, well
sweater, sweatshirt, jersey
T-shirt
garden
between, among
TV
to watch TV
television program
twelve
two
second
twenty

u
u
uit
uit de kom
uitchecken
uitdrogen
uitgebreid
uitkijken

uitkijken naar
uitkleden
uitleggen
uitslover (de; uitslovers)
uitstekend
uitverkocht
uitzoeken
universiteit (de; universiteiten)
uploaden
uw

you (fml. sg. or pl.)

out,from
dislocated
to check out
to dry out, to desiccate
sumptuous
to look out, to watch out, to be
carejul
to look forward to
to undress
to explain
hard worker, high flier (somewhat
negative connotation)
excellent
sold out
to select, to pick out
university
to upload
your (fml.)

v
vaat doen, de ...
vaatwasser (de; vaatwassers)
vacature (de; vacatures)
vader (de; vaders)

to do the dishes
dishwasher
vacancy
father

289

vak (het; vakken)

vakantie (de; vakanties)
vakkenpakket (het;
vakkenpakketten)
vallen
van
vanavond
vandaag
vanmiddag
varkensvlees (het)
vechten
veertien
veertig
veld (het; velden)
ver
verband (het; verbanden)
verbazen (zich)
verbinding (de; verbindingen)
verdergaan
verdienen
verdwalen
Verenigde Staten (de)
vereniging (de; verenigingen)
vergadering (de; vergaderingen)
vergaderzaal (de; vergaderzalen)
vergeten
vergissen (zich)
verheugen op (zich)
verjaardag (de)
verkeer (het)
verkeerd
verkoopster (de; verkoopsters)
verkopen
verkoper (de; verkopers)
verliezen
verloofde (de; verloofden/verloofdes)
vermaken (zich)
verschijnen
verslapen (zich)
versturen
vertrekken
vervelen (zich)
verwerkingssnelheid
(de; -snelheden)
verwijderen
verwijsbrief (de; verwijsbrieven)
verzenden
290

subject (at school)

recess, vacation
chosen set of course options
to fall
of,from
tonight
today
this aftemoon
park
to fight
fourteen
forty
field
far
bandage
to be amazed
connection
to go further
to earn
to get lost
United States
club, union
meeting
meeting room
to forget
to be wrong
to look forward to
birthday
traffic
wrong
saleswoman
to sell
shop assistant, clerk, sales-person
to lose
finc(e)
to havefun
to appear
to oversleep
to send (off)
to leave
to be bored
processing speed
to delete
referral letter
to forward

via
vier

vies
vijf
vijftien
vijftig
vijver (de; vijvers)
vinden
vinger (de; vingers)
vis (de; vissen)
vlees (het)
vliegen
vliegensvlug
vliegtuig (het; vliegtuigen)
vloer (de; vloeren)
vloerkleed (het; vloerkleden)
vmbo-school (de; vmbo-scholen)
voedsel (het)
voelen (zich)
voet (de; voeten)
voetbal (de; voetballen)
voetbal (het)
voetballen
volgend
volgens
vollopen
voltijds
volwassene (de; volwassenen)
voor
voor( dat)
vooraf
voorbeeld (het; voorbeelden)
voorbij
voordeur(de;voordeuren)
voorgerecht (het; voorgerechten)
voorhoofd (het; voorhoofden)
voorkomen
voorkomen
voorleggen
voorrang (de)
voorrangsweg (de; voorrangswegen)
voorstedelijk
voorstellen
voorstellen (zich)
voorstelling (de; voorstellingen)
voortaan

via, over
Jour
dirty
five
fifteen
fifty
pond
to find
finger
fish
meat
to fly
as quick as lightning
airplane
floor
carpet
lower secondary school, vocational
school
food
to fee/
foot
soccer bal/
soccer, football (game)
to play soccer
next
according to
to fill, to become filled
full-time
adult
in front of, before, for
before
beforehand, first
example
beyond, past
front door
first course
forehead
to happen
to prevent (insep.)
to submit, to place before
priority
major road, thoroughfare
suburban
to propose, to vote
to imagine
performance
from nowon

291

voortz etten
vorig
vork (de; vorken)
vragen
vriend (de; vrienden)
vriend elijk
vriend in (de; vriend innen)
vriend innetje (het; vriend innetje s)
vriend je (het; vriendjes)
vriezen
vrijdag
vrijdag s
vroege r
vrouw (de; vrouwe n)
VVV (de; VVV's)
vwo (het)

to continue. to carry on
last, previous
fork
to ask
friend, boyfriend
friendly
friend ([.). girlfriend
girlfriend
boyfriend
to freeze
Friday
on Fridays
before, earlier
woman , wife
tourist infomw tion center
high school
1

w
waar
waar?
waarbi j
waarm ee?
waaro m?
waarv andaan ?
wad (het; wadde n)
wakke r worde n
wand (de; wande n)
wande len, uit ... gaan
wang (de; wange n)
wanne er
want
waren huis (het; warenh uizen)
warm
was doen, de ...
wasba k (de; wasba kken)
wasma chine (de; wasma chines )
wasmi ddel (het; wasmi ddelen )
wasse n
wasse n (zich)
wat
wat anders
wat?
water (het; watere n)
waterk etel (de; waterk etels)
wc (de; wc's)
wc-pap ier (het)
we
292

true
where ?
with which
with what?
why?
from where?
shallow(s}, mud flat
to wake up
wal/
to go hiking
cheek
when
becaus e
depart ment store
warm
to do the laundr y
sink (wash basin)
washin g machin e
laundry deterg ent
to wash
to wash onesel f
someth ing/ anythi ng
someth ing else
what?
water
tea kettle
bathro om, toilet
toilet paper
we

weblog (de; weblogs)

webpagina (de; webpagina's)
website (de; websites)
wedstrijd (de; wedstrijden)
wedstrijd, een ... spelen
week (de; weken)
weekend (het; weekenden)
weer (het)
weer, het is mooi ...
weergeven
weg (de; wegen)
weggaan
weglopen
weinig
wekker (de; wekkers)
welk, welke?
Welterusten!
wenkbrauw (de; wenkbrauwen)
wed (de; werven)
werken
werkgever (de; werkgevers)
werkloos
werknemer (de; werknemers)
weten
wie?
wij
wijn (de; wijnen)
willen
wimper (de; wimpers)
wind (de; winden)
winderig, het is ...
winkel (de; winkels)
winkelbediende
(de; winkelbedienden, -bediendes)
winnen
winter (de; winters)
wiskunde (de)
woensdag
woensdags
woestijn (de; woestijnen)
wolk (de; wolken)
wonen
woonkamer (de; woonkamers)
worden
Wortel (de; wortels/wortelen)
woud (het; wouden)

web log
web page
website
game
to play a game
week
weekend
weather
it's beautiful (outside)
to render
road
to go away, to leave
to run away
little
alarm clock
which?
Sleep welt!
eyebrow
(lower) quay, wharf
to work
employer
unemployed
employee
to know
who?
we
wine
to want
eyelash
wind
it's windy
shop, store
shop assistant
to win
winter
math
Wednesday
on Wednesdays
desert
cloud
to live, to be a resident of
living room
to get, to become
carrot
forest
293

y
yahoo ! gebruiken

294

z'n
zacht
zakenman (de; zakenmannen)
zakenvrouw (de; zakenvrouwen)
zakken
zand (het)
zappen
zaterdag
zaterdags
ze
zee (de; zeen)
zeep (de)
zeggen
zeilen
zeker
zenden
zenuwachtig
zes
zestien
zestig
zeven
zeventien
zeventig
ziek
ziekenhuis (het; ziekenhuizen)
zien
zij
zijde (de)
zijn
zijn
zitten
zo
zodat
zodra
zoet
zolder (de; zolders)
zomaar
zomer (de; zomers)
zo'n
zon (de; zonnen)
zondag
zondags
zonnebril (de; zonnebrillen)

to use Yahoo!

his, its
soft
businessman
businesswoman
to fail
sand
to flip channels
Saturday
on Saturdays
she, they, them
sea
soap
to say
to sail
certain
to send
nervous
six
sixteen
sixty
seven
seventeen
seventy
sick
hospita/
to see
she, they
silk
his, its
to be
to sit

if (fml.)
so that
as soon as
sweet
attic, loft
just like that
summer
such a
sun
Sunday
on Sundays
sunglasses

zonnig, het is ..

zoon (de; zonen/zoons)

zout (het/de)
zol'eel

zuinig
zulk, zulke
zullen
zus (de; zussen)

zuur
zwager (de; zwagers)
zwak
zwembroek (de; zwembroeken)
zwemmen

it's sunny
son
salt
so much/many
economical
such
will, shall
sister
sour
brother-in-law
weak
bathing trunks
toswim

295

296

Glossary
English-Dutch

A
abit
alot
a,an
able (to be ... to)
about
above
abroad
accept (to)
accompany (to)
according to
account
across
across (from)
actor
actress
actually
add to (to)
address
address (to)
adult
after
aftemoon
against
agree on (to)
airmail
airplane
airport
alarm clock
all
alley
allow (to)
almost
afone

een beetje
een hoop
een
kunnen
over
over
buitenland (het)
aannemen
meekomen, meegaan
volgens
rekening (de; rekeningen)
over
tegenover
acteur (de; acteurs)
actrice (de; actrices)
eigenlijk
toevoegen
adres (het; adressen)
voorleggen
volwassene (de; volwassenen)
na, nadat
middag (de; middagen)
tegen
afspreken
luchtpost (de)
vliegtuig (het; vliegtuigen)
luchthaven (de; luchthavens)
wekker (de; wekkers)
alle, allemaal
steeg (de; stegen)
laten
bijna
in zijn (z'n) eentje

297

afready {fmf.)
afready
al right
also
although
always
amazed (to be)
American football
American man
American woman
among
amusemen t park
amusing
and
anima/
ank/e
another, in ... way
answer (to)
antibiotics (pl.)
anybody
anyone
anything
apartment
apartment building
apiece (in singles, separately)
apologies, my ... !
apparent, to become . ..
appear (to)
apple
apple pie
appointme nt

appropria te
approve (to)
April
architect

arm
around
around (a time)
arrive (to)
art
artist
298

as
asfar as

reeds
al
goed
ook
al, hoewel
altijd, steeds
zich verbazen
Amerikaa ns voetbal (het)
Amerikaa n (de)
Amerikaa nse (de)
tussen, onder
pretpark (het; pretparken )
leuk
en
dier (het; dieren)
enkel (de; enkels)
anders
antwoord en
antibiotic a (de)
iemand
iemand
iets, wat
flat (de; flats), appartem ent (het;
apparteme nten)
flatgebouw (het;
flatgebouw en)
per stuk
excuses!
blijken
verschijne n; lijken (to seem)
appel (de; appels/app elen)
appeltaar t (de; appeltaart en)
afspraak (de; afspraken );
aanstellin g (de; aanstelling en)
(job)
passend
goedkeur en
april
architect (de; architecte n)
arm (de; armen)
om
rond
aankomen
kunst (de; kunsten)
artiest (de; artiesten)
terwijl
tot, voor zover

as if
as quick as lightning
as soon as
ashamed (to be)
ask (to)
assistant (f.)
assistant (m.)
at
at (a time)
at home
at least
atnoon
at the same time
at
ATM
ATMcard
ATM card (to use an)
attach (to)
attach a file (to)
attachmen t
attend (to)
attendee
attic
August
aunt
autumn
awful

alsof
vliegensvlug
zodra
zich schamen
vragen
ass'.stente (de; assistentes)
assistent (de; assistenten)
bij
om
thuis
tenminste
's middags
tegelijk
aan
geldautom aat (de; geldautomaten)
pinpas (de; pinpassen)
pinnen
toevoegen
een bestand invoegen/attachen
bijlage (de; bijlagen)
deelnemen
deelnemer (de; deelnemers)
zolder (de; zolders)
augustus
tante (de; tantes)
herfst (de)
afschuwel ijk

B
baby
bake (to)
baker
bakery
bal!
banana
band
bandage
bank
bank card
bank note
banker
baseball
basement
basketbal/
bath
bath gel
bathtub

baby (de; baby's)

bakken
bakker (de; bakkers)
bakkerij (de; bakkerijen)
bal (de; ballen)
banaan(d e;bananen )
band (de; bands)
verband (het; verbanden )
bank (de; banken)
pinpas (de; pinpassen )
bankbiljet (het; bankbiljet ten)
bankier (de; bankiers)
honkbal (het)
kelder (de; kelders)
basketbal (het)
bad (het; baden)
badgel (de/het; badgels)
badkuip (de; badkuipen )

299

bathe (to)
bathing suit
bathing trunks
bathroom
be (to)
beach
beautiful
beautiful (it's ... outside}
because
become (to)
bed
bedroom
beef
beer
before
beforehand
begin (to)
behave (to)
behind
Belgian man
Belgian woman
Belgium
believe (to)
belly
belang to (to)
belt
bench
between
beyond
big
bike
bike (to)
bike path
bike tour
hili (currency)
hili (restaurant)
bill (bank note)
billiards
billion
bind (to)
biology
birthday
biscuit (hard)
bleach
300

baden
badpak (het; badpakken),
zwembroek (de; zwembroeken)
zwembroek (de; zwembroeken)
badkamer (de; badkamers); toilet
(het; toiletten), wc (de; wc's)
zijn
strand (het; stranden)
mooi
het is mooi weer
omdat, want
worden
bed (het; bedden)
slaapkamer (de; slaapkamers)
rundvlees (het)
bier (het; bieren)
voor, voor(dat); vroeger
vooraf
beginnen
zich gedragen
achter
Belg (de)
Belgische (de)
Belgi
geloven
buik (de; buiken)
horen bij
riem (de; riemen)
bank (de; banken)
tussen
voorbij
groot
fiets (de; fietsen)
fietsen
fietspad (het; fietspaden)
fietstocht (de; fietstochten)
bankbiljet (het; bankbiljetten)
rekening (de; rekeningen)
biljet (het; biljetten)
poolbiljart (het)
miljard (het; miljarden)
binden
biologie (de)
verjaardag (de)
beschuit (de; beschuiten)
bleekmiddel (het; bleekmiddelen)

blender
blog
blood
blouse
boat
body
boil over (to)
bone
book
book shelf

bookstore
bookworm
boot
bored (to be)
boring
borrow (to)
boss
both
battle
bouquet
bourgeois
bow (to)
bowl
box
boy
boyfriend
bra
bracelet
bra in

branch
bread
break (to)
break/ast
breast

bricklayer
bridge
bring (to)
brochure
broom
brother
brother-in-Law
brush (to)
building

blender (de hlend ) .

.
'
ers ' mixer (de
mixers)
'
blog (de; blogs)
bloed (het)
blouse (de; blouses)
boot (de; boten)
lichaam (het; lichamen)
overkoken
been (het; beenderen), bot (het
botten)
'
boek (het; boeken)
boekenplank (de; boekenplanken)
boekenkast (de; boekenkasten) '
(book case)
boe~winkel (de; boekwinkels)
studiebol (de; studiebollen)
laars (de; laarzen)
zich vervelen
saai
lenen
baas (de; bazen), chef (de; chefs)
beide(n)
fles (de; flessen)
boeket (het; boeketten)
burgerlijk
buigen
kom (de; kommen)
doos (de; dozen)
jongen (de; jongens)
vriendje (het; vriendjes)
beha (de; beha's)
armband (de; armbanden)
hersenen (de), hersens (de) (pl.)
filiaal (het; filialen)
brood (het)
breken, doorbreken
ontbijt (het; ontbijten)
borst (de; borsten)
metselaar (de; metselaars)
brug (de; bruggen)
brengen
folder (de; folders)
bezem (de; bezems)
broer (de; broers)
zwager (de; zwagers)
poetsen
gebouw (het; gebouwen)

301

bun
bunch
burst (to)
bus
business
businessman
businesswoman
busy
busy (to be)
but
butcher
butcher shop
buy (to)
by
by the way

broodje (de; broodjes), h1xPhroodjt>

(het; luxebroodjes)
hoop (de; hoop)
doorbreken
bus (de; bussen)
handel (de)
zakenman (de; zakenmannen)
zakenvrouw (de; zakenvrouwt>n)
druk, bezig
het druk hebben
maar
slager (de; slagers)
slagerij (de; slagerijPn)
kopen
door (passive), langs (path)
trouwens

302

cab/e
caf
cage
cake
calculus
call (to)
call {up) (to)
called {to be) (name)
camera
can
can (able)
canal
cancel (to)
cap
capable
car
caraJe
cards
care/ui (to be)
carpenter
carpet
carrot
carry (to)
carry on (to)
carton
case (pen/pencil)
cash
cash register
catch (to)

kabel (de; kabels)

caf (het; cafs)
kooi (de; kooien)
cake (de; cakes)
rekenen
roepen
opbellen
heten
camera (de; camera's)
blik (het; blikken)
kunnen
gracht (de; grachten)
afgelasten
pet (de; petten)
kundig
auto (de; auto's)
karaf (de; karaffen)
kaarten (de)
uitkijken
timmerman (de; timmermannen)
vloerkleed (het; vloerkleden)
wortel (de; wortels/wortelen )
dragen
voortzetten
doos (de; dozen)
etui (het; etuis)
contant geld
kassa (de; kassa's)
opvangen

catering company
CD player
CD ROM
CD ROM drive
ceiling
cellar
certain
chair
champion
channel
channel surf (to)
charge, extra ...
chat (to)
chat room
cheat by copying (to)
check
check in (to)
check out (to)
checking account
cheek
cheese
chemist (pharmacist)
chemistry
chest
chi eken
child
chin
chocolate sprin kles
.choice of studies
choose (to)
church
cinema
circulate (to)
circus
city hall

city
civil
clarinet
classica!
classify (to)
class room
clean
clean (to)
clean one 's pla tP (to}

cateringbedrijf (het; cateringbedrijven)

cd-speler (de; cd-spelers)
cd-rom (de; cd-roms)
cd-romspeler (de; cd-romspelers)
plafond (het; plafonds)
kelder (de; kelders)
zeker
stoel (de; stoelen)
kampioen (de; kampioenen)
kanaal (het; kanalen)
kanaalzwemmen
meerprijs (de; meerprijzen)
chatten
chatroom (de; chatrooms)
spieken (infml.)
rekening (de; rekeningen)
inchecken
uitchecken
lopende rekening (de; rekeningen)
wang (de; wangen)
kaas (de; kazen)
drogist (de; drogisten)
chemie (de), scheikunde (de)
borst (de; borsten), borstkas (de;
borstkassen)
kip (de; kippen)
kind (het; kinderen)
kin (de; kinnen)
hagelslag (de)
studiekeuze (de; studiekeuzes/
-keuzen)
kiezen
kerk (de; kerken)
bioscoop (de; bioscopen)
rondgaan
circus (het; circussen)
stadhuis (het; stadhuizen)
stad (de; steden)
burgerlijk
klarinet (de; klarinetten)
klassiek
indelen
klas (de; klassen)
schoon
poetsen
z'n bord leegeten
303

clerk
dient
clock
close (to)
close a file (to)
clothing
clothing store
cloud
cloudy
club
coach
coat
coat rack
coffee
coffee maker
coffee shop
cold
cold (it's .. . )
colleague
collect (to)
collection
collective labor agreement
college (with Bachelor's degree)
cologne
color
color combination
come (to)
come outside
come over (to)
come with (to)
comedy
common
compan y

comparatively
complet ely
compute r
compute r game
304

lokettis t (de; lokettist en), verkoper

(de; verkope rs)
klant (de; klanten )
klok (de; klokken )
sluiten, dichtdo en, afsluiten
een bestand sluiten
kleding
kleding zaak (de; kledingz aken)
wolk (de; wolken)
bewolkt
club (de; clubs), verenig ing (de;
verenigi ngen)
coach (de; coaches)
jas (de; jassen), mantel (de;
mantels )
kapstok (de; kapstok ken)
koffie (de)
koffieze tapparaa t (het;
koffieze tapparat en)
caf (het; cafs)
koud
het is koud
collega (de; collega's)
ophalen
collectie (de; collecties)
cao (de; cao's)
hogeschool (de; hogescholen)
eau de cologne (de; eau de
colognes)
kleur (de; kleuren )
kleuren combin atie (de;
-combinaties)
komen
buitenk omen (to)
langsko men
meekom en
blijspel (het; blijspelen), komedie
(de; komedie s)
gewoon
bedrijf (het; bedrijve n),
onderne ming (de;
onderne mingen )
naar verhoud ing
helemaa l
comput er (de; compute rs)
compute rspellet je (het;
compute rspelletj es)

computer science
concert
concert hall
conference
congratulations !
connection
construction worker
continue (to)
cook (to)
cooperate (to)
copy (to)
copy (to) (cheat)
copy (to) (imitate)
cost, additional . ..
cotton
couch
count on (to)
counter
countryside
course
cousin (f)
cousin (m.)
cross (over) (to)
crowd
crush fine (to)
crush to death (to)

cucumber
culture
cup

cupboard
cure

currant bun

curtain
customer

cycle (to)

informatica (de)
concert (het; concerten)
concertzaal (de; concertzalen)
congres (het; congressen)
gefeliciteerd!
verbinding (de; verbindingen)
bouwvakker (de; bouwvakkers)
voortzetten
koken
samenwerken
kopiren
spieken (infml.)
nabootsen
meerprijs (de; meerprijzen)
katoen (het)
bank (de; banken)
rekenen op
aanrecht (het; aanrechten), balie
(de; balies)
platteland (het)
cursus (de; cursussen)
nicht (de; nichten)
neef (de; neven)
oversteken
menigte (de; menigte), massa (de;
massa's)
fijnmaken
dooddrukken
komkommer (de; komkommers)
cultuur (de; culturen)
kopje (het; kopjes), kop (de;
koppen)
kast (de; kasten), keukenkastje
(het; keukenkastjes) (kitchen)
kuur (de; kuren) (treatment),
genezing (de; genezingen)
(solution)
krentenbol (de; -bollen)
gordijn (het; gordijnen)
klant (de; klanten)
fietsen

D
dad

papa (de; papa's), pappa (de;

dance (to)
dance hall

pappa's)
dansen
dancing (de; dancings)

305

dare (to)
daughter
day
day after tomorrow
day before yesterday
day of birth
December
degree
delete (to)
delicious
deliver (to)
delivery
demand (to)
dentist
deodorant
department
department store
desert
desiccate (to)
desk
desktop
dessert
dessert course
destination
diagonally across
die (to)
different
differently
difficult
dine (to)
dining room
dinner
diploma
direction
dirty
disappoint (to)
discharge (to)
dishwasher

306

dishwashing detergent
dislocated
dismiss (to)
distance
divorce (to) (someone)
do (to)

durven
dochter (de; dochters)
dag(de;dagen )
overmorgen
eergisteren
geboortedag (de)
december
graad (de; graden) (temperature) ;
titel (de; titels) (as in university)
deleten, verwijderen
lekker, heerlijk
bestellen
bestelling (de; bestellingen)
eisen
tandarts (de; tandartsen)
deodorant (de; deodorants)
afdeling (de; afdelingen)
warenhuis (het; warenhuizen)
woestijn (de; woestijnen)
uitdrogen
bureau (het; bureaus)
desktop (de; desktops)
toetje (het; toetjes)
nagerecht (het; nagerechten)
bestemming (de; bestemmingen )
schuin tegenover
sterven
ander
anders
moeilijk, lastig
dineren
eetkamer (de; eetkamers)
diner (het; diners)
diploma (het; diploma's)
kant (de; kanten)
vies
tegenvallen
ontslaan (insep.)
afwasmachin e (de;
afwasmachine s), vaatwasser
(de; vaatwassers)
afwasmiddel (het; afwasmiddele n)
uit de kom
ontslaan (insep.)
eind (het; einden)
scheiden van (iemand)
doen

do homework (to)
do the dishes (to)
do the laundry (to)
do well (to)
doctor

doctor, family ...

document
documentary
dog
dollar
don't mention it

door
door (prep.)
download (to)
downstairs
draw (to)
drawer
drawing
dress
dressed, to get ...
dress shop
drink
drink (to)
drive (to)
drive up (to)
drugstore
dry
dry out (to)
dryer
DSL

dune
during
Dutch
. Dutchgin
Dutchman
Dutch woman
DVD player

E
each
ear
earlier
eam (to)

earring
easy

huiswerk maken
de vaat doen, de afwas doen
de Was doen
het goed maken
arts (de; artsen), dokter (de;
dokters) (also title)
huisarts (de; huisartsen)
document (het; documenten)
documentaire (de; documentaires)
hond (de; honden)
dollar (de; dollars)
graag gedaan
deur (de; deuren)
by (passive), through (path)
downloaden
beneden
tekenen
la (de; la's), lade (de; lades/laden)
tekening (de; tekeningen)
jurk (de; jurken)
zich aankleden
kledingzaak (de; kledingzaken)
drank (de; dranken); borrel (de;
borrels)
drinken
rijden
opdrijven
drogisterij (de; drogisterijen)
droog
uitdrogen
droger (de; drogers)
dsl (de)
duin (het; duinen)
tijdens
Nederlands (het)
jenever (de; jenevers)
Nederlander (de)
Nederlandse (de)
dvd-speler (de; dvd-spelers)

elk (elke), ieder (iedere)

oor (het; oren)
vroeger, eerder
verdienen
oorbel (de; oorbellen)
gemakkelijk

307

eat (to)
economical
egg
eight
eighteen
eighty
elbow
electrician
electronics store
elevator
eleven
e-mail
e-mail (to)
embarrassed (to be)
employee
employer
empty
end (to)
engineer
Eng land
English
Englishman
English woman
enjoy (to)
enough
entertainment
entire
entirely
ergonomie
Euro
even if
evening
evening (in the ... )
every
everybody
everyone
everything
exactly
exam
examine (to)
example
excellent
exchange (to)
exciting
existence
experience d
explain (to)
308

eten
zuinig
ei (het; eieren)
acht
achttien
tachtig
elleboog(d e;elleboge n)
elektricien (de; elektricien s)
elektrazaa k (de; elektrazak en)
lift (de; liften)
elf
e-mail (de; e-mails)
e-mailen
zich generen
werkneme r (de; werkneme rs)
werkgever (de; werkgever s)
leeg
eindigen
ingenieur (de; ingenieurs )
Engeland
Engels (het)
Engelsman (de)
Engelse (de)
leuk vinden
genoeg
amusemen t (het)
geheel
helemaal
ergonomis ch
euro (de; euro's)
al, zelfs als
avond(de ;avonden )
's avonds
elk (elke), ieder (iedere)
iedereen, ieder (iedere), allen
iedereen, ieder (iedere), allen
alles
net
examen (het; examens)
een examen afnemen
voorbeeld (het; voorbeeld en)
uitstekend , prima
ruilen
opwinden d
bestaan (het)
kundig
uitleggen

eye
eyebrow
eyeglasses
eyelash

oog (het; ogen)

k
wenkbrauw (de
'wen hrauwen)
b .
nl (de; brillen)
wimper (de; wimpers)

F
face
factory
fail (to)
fail an exam (to)
fairly
fall (to)
fall (season)
famous
far
farm
farmer
fashion
Jast
fat
father
father-in-law
favorable (to be)
favorite
fax machine
February
fed up (to be)
fee[ (to)
fen ce
festival
/ever
fianc(e)

field
fifteen
fifty
fight (to)
file
file cabinet
fill (to)
fill out (to)
fill up (to) {fuel)
filled (to get)
film
find (to)

gezicht (het; gezichten)

fabriek (de; fabrieken)
zakken
voor een examen zakken
behoorlijk
vallen
herfst (de)
beroemd
ver
boerderij (de; boerderijen)
boer (de; boeren)
mode (de; modes)
snel
dik
vader (de; vaders)
schoonvader (de; schoonvaders)
meezitten
favoriet
fax (de; faxen), faxapparaat (het;
faxapparaten)
februari
balen
zich voelen
hek (het; hekken)
festival (het; festivals)
koorts (de; koortsen)
verloofde (de; verloofden/
verloofdes)
veld (het; velden), hei (de; heiden)
vijftien
vijftig
vechten
bestand (het; bestanden), dossier
(het; dossiers), file (de; files)
dossierkast (de; dossierkasten)
vollopen
invullen
bijvullen
vollopen
film (de; films)
vinden

309

fine
finger
finish up (to)
fire (to)
first (before)
first (sequentially)
first aid
first course
first, at first
first floor
fish
five
flat screen
flip channels (to)
floor
flounder
flower
flu
fly (to)
Jog
food
/oot
football
for
for (a reason)
for (a time)
fora short while
forexample
force up (to)
forehead
forest
forget (to)
fork
form
forty
forward (to)
Jour
fourteen

France
freeze (to)

310

French
Friday
Fridays (on . .. )
friend
friend (f.)
friendly

goed
vinger (de; vingers)
afsluiten
ontslaan (insep.)
vooraf
eerste
eerste hulp
voorgerecht (het; voorgerechten)
eerst
begane grond (de)
vis (de; vissen)
vijf
flatscreen (de; flatscreens)
zappen
vloer (de; vloeren)
schol (de; schollen)
bloem (de; bloemen)
griep (de)
vliegen
mist (de)
eten (het), voedsel (het)
voet (de; voeten)
voetbal (het) (game, soccer)
voor
om
al
even
bij voorbeeld
opdrijven
voorhoofd (het; voorhoofden)
woud (het; wouden), bos (het;
bossen)
vergeten
vork (de; vorken)
formulier (het; formulieren)
veertig
verzenden
vier
veertien
Frankrijk
vriezen
Frans (het)
vrijdag
vrijdags
vriend (de; vrienden)
vriendin (de; vriendinnen)
vriendelijk

Jrom
from nowon
Jrom there
from where?
front door
fruit
Jry (to)
full-time
Junny

van, uit
voortaan
daarvandaan
waarvandaan?
voordeur(de;voordeuren)
fruit (het)
bakken
fulltime, voltijds
grappig, leuk

G
gallery
game

garden
gate
gentleman
geography
Gerrnan
Gerrnany
get (to) (to obtain)
get (to) (to become)
get a divorce (to)
get angry (to)
get dressed (to)
get lost (to)
get up (to)
girl
girlfriend
give (to)
give an exam (to)
glass
glove

go (to)
go around (to)
go away (to)
go camping (to)
go down (to)
go further (to)

go hjking (to)
go off (to) (as in an ularm)
go o_~t (to) (dirm er, movies, drinks, etc.)
go sightseeing (t o)
go welf (to)
go with (to)

galerie (de; galerien)

spelletje (het; spelletjes), spel (het;
spelen [tournament]), wedstrijd
(de; wedstrijden)
tuin (de; tuinen)
hek (het; hekken)
heer (de; heren)
aardrijkskunde (de)
Duits (het)
Duitsland
krijgen, binnenkrijgen
worden
scheiden
zich ergeren
zich aankleden
verdwalen
opstaan
meisje (het; meisjes)
vriendinnetje (het; vriendinnetjes)
geven
een examen afnemen
glas (het; glazen)
handschoen (de; handschoenen)
gaan
rondgaan
\Veggaan,heengaan
kamperen
ondergaan
verdergaan
uit wandelen gaan
aflopen, gaan
stappen
rondtoeren, bezienswaardigheden
bekijken
meezitten
meegaan

311

go wrong (to)
good
good aftemoon!
good evening !
good morning!
good-bye!
Google (to use)
goose
gorgeous
grade (at school)
grandchild
granddaughter
grandfather
grandmother
grand-nephew
grand-niece
grandson
grape
graphic
grass
great
Greek
greengrocer
grocer
grocery store
guided tour
gym

misgaan
goed, leuk
goedemiddag!
goedenavond!
goedemorgen!
tot ziens, dag! (infml.)
googelen
gans(de;ganzen)
beeldig
cijfer (het; cijfers) (mark); klas (de;
klassen) (class)
kleinkind (het; kleinkinderen)
kleindochter (de; kleindochters)
grootvader (de; grootvaders), opa
(de; opa's)
grootmoeder (de; grootmoeders) ,
oma (de; oma's)
achterneef (de; achterneven)
achternicht (de; achternichten)
kleinzoon (de; kleinzonen/-zoons)
druif (de; druiven)
grafisch
gras (het; grassen)
prachtig
Grieks (het)
groenteboer (de; groenteboeren)
kruidenier (de; kruideniers)
kruidenier (de; kruideniers),
supermarkt (de; supermarkten)
rondleiding (de; rondleidingen)
gym (de), gymnastiek (de)

H
hailing, it's ...
hair
hairdresser's
half
hall
ham
hand
hang (to)
hang up (to)
happen (to)
happy
hard
hardworker
312

het hagelt
haar (het/de; haren)
kapsalon (de; kapsalons)
helft (de; helften)
gang (de; gangen); hal (de; hallen)
ham (de; hammen)
hand (de; handen)
hangen
ophangen
gebeuren, voorkomen
blij
moeilijk
uitslover (de; uitslovers) (somewhat
negative connotation)

hardly

hardware
hardware store
hat
have (to)
have a party (to)
have breakfast (to)
have enough /or (to)
have Jun (to)
have lunch (to)
have to (to)
he
head
headwind
healthy
heart
heath, heather
Hello!
help (to)
her
here
high
high school
high school (with Latin and Greek)
higher secondary school
hili

him
hip
his
history
hit (to)
hockey
hold (to)
home
homework
honey
horrible
hospita/
hot
hot (it's ... )
hotel
house
housewine
how do you do?
how much?, how many?

nauwelijks
hardware (de)
ijzerhandel (de; ijzerhandels)
hoed (de; hoeden)
hebben
een feest houden
ontbijten
overhebben(+ voor)
zich amuseren, zich vermaken
lunchen
moeten
hij
hoofd (het; hoofden)
tegenwind (de; tegenwinden)
gezond
hart (het; harten)
hei (de; heiden)
Hallo!
helpen
haar ('r)
hier
hoog
atheneum (het; atheneums/
athenea), vwo (het)
gymnasium (het; gymnasiums/
gymnasia)
havo (de; havo's)
heuvel (de; heuvels)
hem('m)
hip
zijn, z'n
geschiedenis (de; geschiedenissen)
slaan
hockey (het)
houden
huis (het; huizen)
huiswerk (het)
honing (de)
afschuwelijk
ziekenhuis (het; ziekenhuizen)
heet
het is heet
hotel (het; hotels)
huis (het; huizen)
huiswijn (de; huiswijnen)
hoe maakt u het? (fml.)
hoeveel?

313

how?
how's it going?
HR, human resources
hundred
hurricane
hurry (to)
hurt (to)
husband

hoe?
hoe gaat het?
P&O (personeel en organisatie) (de)
honderd (de; honderden )
orkaan(de ;orkanen)
zich haasten
pijn doen
man (de; mannen), echtgenoo t (de;
echtgenot en)

1
I

ice cream (cone)

if (conditional)
if (whether)

if (fml.)
imagine (to)
imitate (to)
important
in
in advance
in case
in front of
in order to
in that case
indeed
information center

inherit (to)
instant message
instructor
intelligent
interest
interesting
interfere with (to)
internet
internet (to use the)
internet connection

314

intersection
in to
iron (metal)
iron (clothes)
ironing board
irritated

ik
ijsje (het; ijsjes)
als
of
zo
zich voorstelle n
nabootsen
belangrijk
in
van tevoren
als, indien, ingeval (fml.)
voor
opdat, zodat
dan
jawel
informati ecentrum (het;
informatie centra), VVV
(de; VVV's)
erven
instant message (de; instant
messages)
onderwijz er (de; onderwijz ers)
intelligen t
rente (de; rentes)
interessan t
zich bemoeien met
internet (het)
internette n
internetve rbinding (de;
internetve rbindinge n)
kruising (de; kruisingen }
in
ijzer (het}
strijkijzer (het; strijkijzers}
strijkplan k (de; strijkplan ken)
gerriteer d

island
it
its

eiland (het; eilanden)

het ('t)
zijn, z'n

J
jacket
January
jeans
jersey
job
joke
journalist
juice
fuly
f une
just (immediately)
just (precisely)
just (merely, only)
just (only)
just like that

co~bert (het; colberts), jack (het

Jacks)
januari

'

sp~jkerbroek (de; spijkerbroeken),

Jeans (de)
trui (de; truien)
haan(de;ba nen)
grap(de;gra ppen)
journalist (de; journalisten)
sap (het; sappen)
juli
juni
meteen
net
slechts
maar
zomaar

K
keyboard
kitchen
knee
knife
know (to) (a person)
know (to) (a fact, knowledge)

L
ladder
lady
lake
lamp
lamp post
land
landing
language
laptop
last (in sequence)
last (previous)
last (to)
Latin
laugh (to)

keyboard (het; keyboards),

toetsenbord (het; toetsenborden)
keuken (de; keukens)
knie (de; knien)
mes (het; messen)
kennen
weten

ladder (de; ladders)

dame (de; dames)
meer(het;m eren)
lamp (de; lampen)
lantaarnpaa l (de; lantaarnpale n)
land (het; landen)
overloop (de; overlopen)
taal (de; talen)
laptop (de; laptops)
laatst
vorig
duren
Latijn (het)
lachen

315

laugh hysterically (to)

laundry detergent
lawyer
lay down (to)
leaf
leam (to)
leather
leave (to) (to depart)
leave (to) (to go away)
leave behind (to)
left (to the)
leg
legoflam b
lend (to)
less
let (to)
letter
lettuce
library
lie (down) (to)
life
lightning
like (to)
like to (to)
line
lion
literature

little
little (adv.)
little piece
live (to)
living room
load of (a)
loan
lobster
located (to be)
located (to be) (upright position)
loek (to)
locked

loft
long

long ago
look (to) (to appear)
look (to) (to watch)
316

zich een bult lachen

wasmid del (het; wasmiddelen)
advocaa t(de;adv ocaten)
neerleggen
blad (het; bladeren )
leren
leer (het)
vertrekk en
weggaa n
achterla ten
links, linksaf
been (het; benen)
lamsbou t (de; lamsbou ten)
lenen
minder
laten
brief (de; brieven)
sla (de)
biblioth eek (de; biblioth eken)
liggen
leven (het; levens), bestaan (het)
bliksem (de)
leuk vinden; lekker vinden (food)
graag willen
rij (de; rijen)
leeuw (de; leeuwen)
literatuu r (de; literatur en);
letterku nde (de) (Literar y
Studies)
klein
weinig
stukje (het; stukjes)
wonen
huiskam er (de; huiskam ers),
woonka mer (de; woonka mers)
een hoop
lening (de; leningen )
kreeft (de; kreeften )
liggen
staan
op slot doen
op slot
zolder (de; zolders)
lang
lang geleden
lijken
kijken

/ook around (to)

look forward to (to)
Look good (to)
look out (to)
lose (to)
love (to)
/ovely
lower secondary school
lunch
lung

rondkijken
uitk"'k
IJ en naar 'zie
. 'h verh
goed eruitzien
eugen op
uitkijken
verliezen k ..
h
, WIJtraken
ouden van
enig
vmbo-school (d
lunch (d . 1 e; vmbo-scholen)
e, unches)
long (de; longen)

M
magazine
mail slot
mailbox
main course
major road
make ready (to)
man
man(kind)
management
manager
map
March
market
marry (to)
marvelous
math
matter (to be the)
May
may
mayor

me
meantime, in the .
meat
medicine cabinet
meet (to)

meeting
meeting room
memory

menu
menu of the day

merely

mess
metro

tijdschrift (het; ti1"dschrft )

b.
1 en
r'.evenbus (de; brievenbussen)
brievenbus (de; brievenbussen)
hoofdgerecht (het. hoofdgerec h ten)
voorrangsweg (de;
voorrangswegen)
klaarzetten
man (de; mannen)
mens (de)
directie (de; directies)
directeur (de; directeuren/
directeurs)
kaart (de; kaarten)
maart
markt (de; markten)
trouwen, huwen
prachtig
wiskunde (de)
schelen
mei
mogen
burgemeester (de; burgemeesters)
mij, me
alvast, ondertussen
vlees (het)
medicijnkast (de; medicijnkasten)
ontmoeten
vergadering (de; vergaderingen)
vergaderzaal (de; vergader zalen)
geheugen (het; geheugens)
menukaart (de; menukaarten)
dagmenu (het; dagmt>nu's)
slethb
romnwl (de)
nwtro (de; nwtro's)

317

microwave
middleclass
milk
million
minute
mirror
misbehave (to)
modem
mom
Monday
Mondays (on ... )
money
monitor
month
monument
moon
more
morning
morning, in the ...
mortgage
mosque
mother
mother-in-law
mountain
mouse
mousetrap
mouth
move up (to)
movie
movies
Mr., sir
Mrs.,ma'am
MSN (to use)
mud flat
municipal building
municipality

318

muscle
museum
music
musician
must
my

magnetron (de; magnetrons)

burgerlijk
melk (de)
miljoen (het; miljoenen)
minuut (de; minuten)
spiegel (de; spiegels)
zich misdragen
modem (de/het; modems)
mama (de; mama's), mamma (de;
mamma's)
maandag
maandags, 's maandags
geld (het)
beeldscherm (het; beeldschermen),
monitor (de; monitors)
maand (de; maanden)
monument (het; monumenten)
maan (de; manen)
meer
morgen (de; morgens)
's morgens
hypotheek (de; hypotheken)
moskee(de;mosk een)
moeder (de; moeders)
schoonmoeder (de;
schoonmoeders)
berg (de; bergen)
muis (de; muizen)
muizenval (de; muizenvallen)
mond (de; monden)
overgaan
film (de; films)
bioscoop (de; bioscopen)
meneer (de; meneren)
mevrouw (de; mevrouwen)
msn'en
wad (het; wadden)
gemeentehuis (het;
gemeentehuizen)
gemeente (de; gemeentes/
gemeenten)
spier (de; spieren)
museum (het; museums/musea )
muziek (de)
musicus (de; musici)
moeten
mijn

N
name
narrow
nature
nature reserve
near
neck
necklace
neighbor
nephew
nervous
Netherlands
network
network administration
network connection
never
new
newbom
news, the
newspaper
next
next (as in day of the week)
nextto
nice
nice to meet you
niece
night
night club
nine
nine or ten
nineteen
flinety

no
no(+ noun)
no one
nobody

none
nose

naam (de; namen)

smal
natuur (de)
natuurgebied (het;
natuurgebieden)
dichtbij, bij
nek (de; nekken)

~alsketting (de; halskettingen)

uurman (m.), buurvrouw (f.) (de;
buren)
neef (de; neven)
zenuwachtig
Nederland
netwerk (het; netwerken)
netwerkbeheer (het)
netwerkverbindin g (de;
netwerkverbindin gen)
nooit
nieuw
pasgeboren
nieuws (het)
krant (de; kranten)
volgend
komende
naast
leuk, prettig
aangenaam, prettig kennis te
maken
nicht (de; nichten)
nacht (de; nachten)
nachtclub (de; nachtclubs)
negen
een stuk of tien
negentien
negentig
nee
geen
niemand
niemand
niemand
neus(de;neuzen)

not
nota

niet
geen

ttot any

geen
helemaal niet

not at all

319

note (to)
notebook
nothing
nothing, it's ...
notice (to)
November

noteren (to write down); merken

(to notice)
notitieboekje (het; notitieboekjes)
niets, niks (infml.)
niets te danken
(op)merken
november

0
obtain (to)
ocean
October
of
of course!
offer (to)
office
oh boy!
okay
old
on
on one's own
one
only (and nothing more)
only (merely)
only (just)
only if
open a file (to)
opera, opera house
opposite side, the
or
orange

320

orchestra
order
order (to)
other
other side, on the ... (of the
street, water)
other side, the
otherwise
our
out
outside
oven
over
over (by way of)
oversleep (to)

krijgen, binnenkrijgen
oceaan(de;oceanen)
oktober
van
natuurlijk!
bieden
kantoor (het; kantoren)
tjonge!
goed
oud
op, aan
in zijn (z'n) eentje
een
alleen
slechts
maar
mits
een bestand openen
opera (de; opera's)
overkant (de)
of
sinaasappel (de; sinaasappels/
sinaasappelen)
orkest (het; orkesten)
bestelling (de; bestellingen)
bestellen
ander
aan de overkant
overkant (de)
anders
ons, onze
uit
naar buiten
oven (de; ovens)
over
via
zich verslapen

owing to
own

doordat
eigen

p
package
page
pa in
painkiller
painting
pajamas
pants
pareel
parent
park
participant
participate (to)
part-time
party
pass (access)
pass (to)
pass an exam (to)
passport
past
pay attention (to)
pay for (to)
pay off (to)
PE (physical education)
pear
people
pepper
performance
perfume
person
personnel manager
petting zoo
pharmacist
pharmacy
phone (to)
photo program
physics
pick out (to)
picture

pakket (h t
blad .. e ; pakketten)
z11de (de blad ..d
__(de; pagin~'s) z11 en). pagina
p~~n (de; pijnen)

~;~~~~ill~~ (de; pijnstillers)

. en1 (het/de; schilderijen)
PYJama (de; pyjama's)
broek(de;broeken )
pakket (het pakk etten)
ouder (de; ouders)
park (het; parken)
deelnemer (d e . d ee 1nenwrs)
deelnemen
deeltijds, parttime
feest (het; feesten)
(toegangs)pas
slagen
voor een examen slagen
paspoort (het; paspoortt'n)
voorbij
opletten
afrekenen
afbetalen
gymnastiek (de)
peer (de; peren)
mensen (pl.)
peper (de; pepers)
voorstelling (de; voorstellingen)
parfum (het/de; parfums)
mens (het; mensen), persoon (de;
personen)
personeelschef (de; personeelchefs)
kinderboerderij (de;
kinderboerderijen )
apotheker (de; apothekers)
apotheek (de; apotheken)
opbellen
fotoprogramrna (het;
fotoprogramma's)
natuurkunde (de)
uitzoeken
afbeelding (de; afbeeldingen),
plaatje (het; plaatjes)

321

piece
piece offurniture
place before (to)
plaice
plant
plastic
plastic, made of plastic
plate
play (drama)
play a game (to)
play a sport (to)
play house (theater)
play soccer (to)
player {f.)
player (m.)
playground
playing cards
pleasant
please
pleased to meet you
plumber
pneumonia
policeman
policewoman
pond
pool (game)
pool (swimming)
park

322

post card
post office
postage
powder
practically
prefer (to)
prepared to (to be)
press (to)
pretty
prevent (to)
previous
price
print (to}
printer
priority

stuk (het; stukken)

meubel (het; meubels)
voorleggen
schol (de; schollen)
plant (de; planten)
plastic (het; plastics)
plastic
bord(het;borden )
toneelstuk (het; toneelstukken)
een spel(letje) spelen, een wedstrijd
spelen
een sport beoefenen
schouwburg (de; schouwburgen)
voetballen
speelster (de; speelsters)
speler (de; spelers)
speeltuin (de; speeltuinen)
speelkaarten (de)
leuk, prettig
alstublieft (fml.), alsjeblieft
(infml.)
aangenaam, prettig kennis te
maken
loodgieter (de; loodgieters)
longontsteking (de;
longontstekingen )
politieman (de; politiemannen)
politievrouw (de; politievrouwen)
vijver (de; vijvers)
poolbiljart {het)
zwembad {het; zwembaden)
varkensvlees (het)
briefkaart (de; briefkaarten)
postkantoor (het; postkantoren)
porto (de/het; porto's/porti)
poeder (het/de; poeders)
praktisch
liever willen
overhebben(+ voor)
drukken
mooi, behoorlijk
voorkomen (insep.)
vorig
prijs (de; prijzen)
afdrukken, printen
printer (de; printers)
voorrang (de)

processing speed
professor
program
proportionately
propose (to)
provided that
pub
pulverize (to)
purchase (to)
push (to)
put down (to) (to lay down)
put in a splint (to)

verwerkin
gssnelheid
(d .
e, -snelheden)
professor (d .
e' professors/
Prof:essoren)
progr amma (het.
naar verhoudin 'programma's)
g
voorstellen
mits
caf (het; cafs)
fijnmaken
aanschaffen
drukk en, duwen
neerleggen
spalk en

Q
quay (lower)
queue
quick
quiet

~~rf (de; werven)

TIJ (de; rijen)
snel
stil

R
radiant
rain
raining, it's . ..
rat
rather
razor
read (to)
really
really?
receive (to)
reception desk
recess
recover (to)
referral letter
refrigerator
refu.el (to)
relative
remember (to)
render (to)
repeat a grade (to)
reply (to)
report card
reservation

spran kelen d
regen (de; regens)
het regen t
rat (de; ratten )
behoorlijk, tamelijk
schee rappa raat (het;
schee rappa raten)
lezen
eigenlijk, in werkelijkheid;
ontze ttend (augm.)
echt?
krijge n
recep tie (de; recepties)
vakan tie (de; vakanties)
zich herste llen
verwi jsbrie f (de; verwijsbrieven)
koelk ast (de; koelkasten)
bijvul len
famil ielid (het; familieleden)
zich herin neren
weerg even
blijve n zitten
antwo orden
rappo rt (het; rappo rten)
reserv ering (de; reserveringen)

323

reserve (to)
rest
restaurant
retired
return (to)
reveal (to)
rheumatism
rice
ride (to)
right
right, to the ...
right at (a time)
ring
river
raad
rock
roll
roof
room
row
rule
run away (to)
rural
rusk

reserveren
rust (de)
restaurant (het; restaurants)
gepensioneerd
terugkeren
openleggen
reuma (de)
rijst (de)
rijden
juist, correct
rechts, rechtsaf
klokslag
ring (de; ringen)
rivier (de; rivieren)
weg (de; wegen)
rots (de; rotsen)
broodje (de; broodjes), luxebroodje
(het; luxebroodjes)
dak (de; daken)
kamer (de; kamers)
rij (de; rijen)
regel (de; regels)
weglopen
landelijk
beschuit (de; beschuiten)

s
sad
sail (to)
sa/ad
salary
salesperson
saleswoman
salt
same, the
sand
Saturday
Saturdays (on ... )
save a document (to)
savings account
say (to)
scan (to)
scanner
scared stiff (to be)

324

scarf
scary

bedroefd
zeilen
sla (de)
salaris (het; salarissen)
verkoper (de; verkopers)
verkoopster (de; verkoopsters)
zout (het/de)
dezelfde
zand (het)
zaterdag
zaterdags
een document opslaan
spaarrekening (de;
spaarrekeningen)
zeggen
scannen
scanner (de; scanners)
zich rot schrikken
sjaal (de; sjaals)
eng

school
screen
scufpture
sea
second
second cousin (m.}
second cousin {f.}
second Jloor
secretary (f.}
secretary (m. or f)
see (to}
see you again
seem (to} (it seems that . .. )
seem (to) (to look like, to resemble)
select (to)
sell (to}
send (to)
send (to) (off)
send a file (to)
send an e-mail (to)
September
settle (to)
settle up (to)
seven
seventeen
seventy
shall
shallow(s)
shampoo
shave (to)
shaving cream
she
shelf
ship

shirt
shoe
shoe store
shop
shop assistant

school (de; scholen)

beeldscherm (het; beeldsc
monitor (de m .
hermen),
on1tors)
beeldhouwwerk (het
beeldhouwwerken)
zee (de; zeen)
tweede
achterneef(de acht erneven)
achternicht (de achte . h

rn1c ten)
eerste verdieping (de)
secretaresse (de secr t
'
e aresses/
secretaressen)
s~cretaris (de; secretarissen)
zien
tot ziens
schijnen (het schijnt dat ... )
lijken
uitzoeken
verkopen
zenden, sturen
versturen
een bestand verzenden
een e-mail verzenden
september
afspreken
afrekenen
zeven
zeventien
zeventig
zullen
wad (het ; wadden)
shampoo (de; shampoos)
scheren
scheercrme (de; scheercrmes)
zij, ze
plank (de; planken); schap (de;
schappen) (store)
schip (het; schepen)
hemd (het; hemden), overhemd
(het; overhemden)
schoen (de; schoenen)
schoenenzaak(de; schoenenzaken)
winkel (de; winkels)
winkelbediende (de;
winkelbediendes, -bedienden),
verkoper (de; verkopers)

short (length)

kort

325

short (height)
shorts
shoulder
show (to)
shower
showy
shrimp
sick
side
sidewalk
silk
si nee
sink (kitchen)
sink (to)
sink (wash basin)
sister
sister-in-law
sit (to)
six
sixteen
sixty
si ze
skate (to)
skilled
skin
skirt
sky
sleep (to)
sleep welf!
slightly
slug
small
smart
smell (to)
smog
smoked sausage
snail
sneaker
snow
snowing, it's ...
so
so much/ma ny
so that

soap
soccer (game)
soccer bal/
326

klein
korte broek (de; korte broeken)
schouder (de; schouder s)
laten zien
douche (de; douches)
opvallend
garnaal (de; garnalen )
ziek
kant (de; kanten)
stoep (de; stoepen), trottoir (het;
trottoirs)
zijde (de)
sinds (time); aangezie n
gootsteen (de; gootstene n)
ondergaa n
wasbak (de; wasbakk en)
zus (de; zussen/zu sters)
schoonzu s (de; schoonzu ssen)
zitten
zes
zestien
zestig
maat (de; maten)
schaatsen
kundig
huid (de; huiden)
rok (de; rokken)
hemel (de; hemelen)
slapen
welterus ten!
ietsjes
slak (de; slakken)
klein
slim
ruiken
smog (de)
rookwor st (de; rookwor sten)
slak (de; slakken)
gymscho en (de; gymscho enen)
sneeuw (de)
het sneeuwt
dus
zoveel
zodat
zeep (de)
voetbal (het)
voetbal (de; voetballe n)

soek
soda
sofa
soft
soft drink
software
sold out
some
some time ago
somebody
someone
som ething
something else
somewhat ([ml.)
son
song
soon
sore throat
sound system
sour
sparkling
speak (to)
speak to (to)
special
special offer
specially
spell (to)
spoon
springtime
stadium
staf!
stair
stamp
stand (up) (to)

standard
standstill, to be at a ...

star
start (to)
station (train)
stay (to)

stay back (to)

. Jtay home (to)

.ltay in (to)
lt,eal (to)

" ~P

sok (de; sokken)

spuitwa ter (het)
bank(d e,banken)
zacht
frisdran
k (d . .
f
e, fnsdranken)
s~ tware (de)
uitverkocht
sommige (ad')
. n
I ' sommige
(n., people)
enige tijd geleden
iemand
iemand
iets, wat, n en ander
wat anders, iets anders
enigszin s
z_o on (de; zonen/zoons)
hed (het; liederen)
straks
keelpijn (de)
geluidss ysteem (het;
geluidssystemen)
zuur
spranke lend
spreken
aanspre ken
extra
aanbied ing (de; aanbiedingen)
bijzonde r
spellen
lepel (de; lepels)
lente (de ; lentes)
stadion (het; stadions)
persone el (het)
trap (de; trappen)
postzege l (de; postzegels)
staan
standaa rd
platligg en
ster (de; sterren)
beginne n
station (het; stations)
blijven
blijven zitten
thuisbli jven
binnenb lijven
stelen
trap (de; trappen )
327

stepchild
stepdaughter
stepfather
stepmother
stepson
stick (to)
stocking
stomach
stop
store
storm
stove
straight across
straight ahead
straighten (to)
straighten up (to)
street
street light
street map
streetcar
strong
student (elementary or high school)
student {f.)
student (m.)
study (to)
subject
subject (to)
subject (at school)
submit (to)
suburban
subway
succeed (to)
such
such a
sugar
suit

328

suitable
summer
sumptuous
sun
Sunday
Sundays (on ... )
sunglasses
sunny, it's ...
supermarket

stiefkind (het; stiefkinderen)

stiefdochter (de; stiefdochters)
stiefvader (de; stiefvaders)
stiefmoeder (de; stiefmoeders)
stiefzoon (de; stiefzonen/-zoons)
plakken
kous (de; kousen)
maag (de; magen)
halte (de; haltes)
winkel (de; winkels)
storm (de; stormen)
fornuis (het; fornuizen); kachel
(de; kachels) (heater)
recht tegenover
rechtdoor
rechtbuigen
opruimen
straat (de; straten)
straatlantaarn (de; straatlantaarns)
plattegrond (de; plattegronden)
tram (de; trams)
sterk
leerling (de; leerlingen)
studente (de; studentes)
student (de; studenten)
studeren
onderwerp (het; onderwerpen)
onderwerpen (insep.)
vak (het; vakken)
voorleggen
voorstedelijk
metro (de; metro's)
lukken
zulk, zulke
zo'n
suiker (de)
kostuum (het; kostuums), pak
(het; pakken)
passend
zomer (de; zomers)
uitgebreid
zon (de; zonnen)
zondag
zondags
zonnebril (de; zonnebrillen)
het is zonnig
supermarkt (de; supermarkten)

surf (to)
surrender (to)
sweater
sweatshirt
sweet
swim (to)

surfen
zkh overgeven
trui (de; truien)
trui (de; truien)
zoet
zwemmen

T
table
take (to)
take a bath (to)
take a picture (to)
take a shower (to)
take a walk around (to)
take an exam (to)
take care of (to)
take on (to)
talented
talkshow

tal[
tame (to)
tank top
taste (to)
tasty
taxi
taxi driver
tea
tea kettle
teach (to)
teacher (f)
teacher (m.)
team

teenager
telephone
telephone number
televison
television program

temperature
tempte
ten
tendon

tafel (de; tafels)

nemen
baden, een bad nemen
een foto nemen
douchen, een douche nemen
rondlopen
een examen afleggen/doen
opvangen
aannemen
getalenteerd, talentvol
praatprogramma (het;
praatprogramma's), talkshow
(de; talkshows)
groot
temmen
topje (het; topjes)
proeven
lekker
taxi (de; taxi's)
taxichauffeur (de; taxichauffeurs)
thee (de)
waterketel (de; waterketels)
leren
lerares (de; leraressen)
leraar (de; leraren)
ploeg (de; ploegen), team (het;
teams)
tiener (de tieners)
telefoon (de; telefoons)
telefoonnummer (het;
telefoonnummers)
televisie (de; televisies)
televisieprogramma (het;
-programma's), tv-programma
(het; tv-programma's)
temperatuur (de; temperaturen)
tempel (de; tempels)
tien
pees (de; pezen)
329

tennis
tennis shoe
terrific
test
test (orul)
test (written)
text message (to)
textbook
thank you
thank you very much

that
that (conj.)
the

theater
their
them
theme park
then
theoretica/
therefore
these
they
thin
think (to)
think of/up (to)
thirteen
thirty
this
this aftemoon
thoroughfare
those
thousand
three
throat
through
thunder
Thursday
Thursdays (on ... )
ticket
tidy up (to)
tie (to)
tie
(to) (a game)
330

ttm1is (lwt)
tltmissd1ocn (de; t11111i"", ho1rlf'11)

geweldig
toets (de; tot~tscn)
overhoring (de; overhori11g111)
proefwerk (het; prodwnken)
s1ns'en
tekstboek (het; tekstboeken)
dank u (fml.), dank je (inf rnl.)
dank u/je wel!
die(+ de~word), dat (+het-word)
dat
de (+de-word or pl.), het
('t) (+het-word)
theater (het; theaters), schouwburg
(de; schouwburgen)
hun
ze, hen (human obj.; after prep.),
hun (human ind. obj.)
themapark (het; themaparken)
dan
theoretisch
dus
deze
zij, ze
dun
denken
bedenken
dertien
dertig
deze(+ de-word), dit(+ het-word)
vanmiddag
voorrangsweg (de;
voorrangswegen)
die

duizend (de; duizenden)

drie
keel (de; kelen)
door
donder (de)
donderdag
donderdags
kaartje (het; kaartjes), ticket (het;
tickets)
opruimen
binden
gelijkspelen

time
tip

tip over (to)

tipsy
to (direction)
to (up to, until)

to (before verb)
toast (hard)
today

toe
together
toilet
toilet paper
to mato
tomo"ow
tongue
tonight
too (also)
too (before adj.)
tooth
top, to be on ...
totally
tour boat
tour bus
tourist
towel
town
toy store
traffic
traffic light
train
train station
traverse (to)
treatment

tree
tremendous

trendy
trillion

trousers
true
try (to)
T-shirt
Tuesday
Tuesdays (on ... )
turn back (to)

tijd (de; tijden)

fooi (de; fooien)
omkiepen
aangeschoten
naar
tot
te
beschuit (de; beschuiten)
vandaag
.
teen (de; tenen)
samen
to~let (he~; toiletten), wc (de; wc's)
toiletpapier (het), wc-papier (het)
tomaat(de;tomaten)
morgen
tong (de; tongen)
vanavond
ook
te
tand (de; tanden)
bovenliggen
helemaal
rondvaartboot (de; rondvaartboten)
touringcar (de; touringcars)
toerist (de; toeristen)
handdoek(de;handdoe ken)
gemeente (de; gemeentes/
gemeenten), stad (de; steden)
speelgoedwinkel (de;
speelgoedwinkels)
verkeer (het)
stoplicht (het; stoplichten)
trein (de; treinen)
station (het; stations)
doorkruisen (insep.)
kuur (de; kuren)
boom (de; bomen)
geweldig
hip
biljoen (het; biljoenen)
broek(de;broeken)

waar
proberen
T-shirt (het; T-shirts)
dinsdag
dinsdags
terugkeren

331

turn off {to) ; make a turn (to)

TV

twelve
twenty
two

afslaan
tv (de; tv's)
twaalf
twintig
twee

u
ugly
umbrella
uncle
under
undemeath
underpants
undershirt
understand (to)
undress (to)
unemployed
unfortunately
unfriendly
union
United States
university
unless
until
upload (to)
upstairs
urban
US

lelijk
paraplu (de; paraplu's)
oom (de; ooms)
onder
eronder
onderbroek (de; onderbroeken)
onderhemd (het; onderhemden)
begrijpen
uitkleden
werkloos
helaas
onvriendelijk
vereniging (de; verenigingen)
Verenigde Staten (de)
universiteit (de; universiteiten)
tenzij
tot
uploaden
hoven
stedelijk
ons

v
vacancy
vegetable
vegetable soup
very
veterinarian
via
village
visit (to)
vote (to)

332

waiter
waitress
wake up (to)
walk (to)
walk around (to)

vacature (de; vacatures)

groente (de; groentes/groenten)
groentesoep (de; groentesoepen)
heel
dierenarts (de; dierenartsen)
via
dorp (het; dorpen)
langsgaan, bezoeken, op bezoek
gaan
stemmen, voorstellen

ober (de; obers)

serveerster (de; serveersters)
wakker worden

lopen
rondlopen

lWJlll(to}

muur (de; muren), wand (de

'
wanden)
willen

worm

warm

(to)
wash (to)
wash oneself (to)
washing machine
watch
watch (to)
watch out (to)
watch television (to)
watch 1V (to)
water

kromtrek ken
wassen
zich wassen

Vl(JTfJ

way
way back
way there, way towards something

we
wealc
wear(to)
weather
weblog
webpage
website
Wednesday
Wednesdays (on . . . )
week
weekend
well (fine)
well (by the way)
wet, to get . .. in the rain
wharf
what?
what's your name ?

when?
when (conj. + present tense)
when (conj. +past ten se)
where?
whether
which?
while
whipped cream
who?
whole
why?

wasmachine (de; wasmachines)

horloge (het; horloges)
kijken
uitkijken
televisie kijken
tv kijken
water (het; waters/wateren)
kant (de; kanten)
terugweg (de)
heenweg (de)
wij, we
zwak
dragen
weer (het)
weblog (de; weblogs)
webpagin a (de; webpagina's)
website (de; websites)
woensdag
woensdags
week (de; weken)
weekend (het; weekenden)
goed
trouwens
natregen en
werf (de; werven)
wat?
hoe heet u? (fml.), hoe heet je?
(infml.)
wanneer ?

als
toen
waar?
of
welk, welke?
terwijl
slagroom (de)
wie?
geheel
waarom?
333

wife

vrouw (de; vrouwen) , echtgenotf~

(de; echtgeno tes/echtg enoten)

will
win (to)
wind
window
windy, it's ...
wine
winter
wireless
with
with what?
with which
with whom?
withdraw (to) (money)
woman
wood
wooden
woods
word processor

zullen
winnen
wind (de; winden)
raam (het; ramen)
het is winderig
wijn (de; wijnen)
winter (de; winters)
draadloo s
met
waarmee ?
waarbij
met wie?
opnemen
vrouw (de; vrouwen )
hout (het)
houten
bos (het; bossen)
tekstverw erker (de;
tekstverw erkers)
werken
meezitte n
doorwerk en
tjonge!
pols (de; polsen)
schrijven
noteren
schrijfste r (de; schrijfste rs)
schrijver (de; schrijver s)
verkeerd
zich vergissen

work (to)
work out (to)
working, to keep on . . .
wow!
wrist
write (to)
write down (to)
writer (f)
writer (m.)
wrong
wrong (to be)

y
Yahoo (to use)
year
yes
yesterday
yet
you (fml. sg. or pl.)
you (infml. pl.)
you (infml. sg.)
you (infml. sg.) (obj.)
young
your (fml.)
your (infml. pl.)
your (infml. sg.)
334

yahooen
jaar (het; jaren)
ja, jawel
gisteren
toch
u

jullie
jij, je
jou, je
jong
uw
jullie
jouw, je

ou're welcorne

~l.lth hostel

1
zero
zilch

zoo
z-wieback

gr aa g ge da an ,
ni et s te da nk en
\e ug dh er be rg (d
e; \eugdher-ber
gen)
nu l
ni ks (infml.)
di er en tu in (de;
dierentuinen)
be sc hu it (de; be
schuiten)

335