Dutch Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Dutch grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Dutch and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Dutch and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Dutch.

Prepositions - Dutch
and en
above boven
under onder
before voor
after na
in front of voor
behind achter
far from verre van
near nabij
in in
inside binnen
outside buiten
with met
without zonder
about over
between tussen
but maar
for voor
from uit/van
to aan

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Dutch
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] ik eet zonder mes
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] ze woont in de buurt van de kerk
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] hij is groter dan haar
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] hij kwam met zijn kleine hond
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] kan je met me mee?

Negation in Dutch

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Dutch
I understand you [affirmative form] ik begrijp je
I don't understand you [negation + verb] ik begrijp je niet
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] dit is niet het juiste woord
don't leave me [imperative negation] laat me niet alleen
no problem [negation + noun] geen probleem

Negative Sentences - Dutch
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] ik spreek geen frans
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] ze was niet in duitsland op bezoek
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] hij kan ons niet zien
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] kan ze niet schaken?
we will not come late [negation + future tense] we zullen niet laat komen

Questions in Dutch

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Dutch
how? hoe?
what? wat?
who? wie?
why? waarom?
where? waar?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Dutch
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] waar woon je?
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] spreekt ze chinees?
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] hoeveel is dit?
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] kan ik u helpen?
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] wat is je naam?

Adverbs in Dutch

It's time to learn the adverbs in Dutch. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Dutch
now nu
yesterday gisteren
today vandaag
tonight vanavond
tomorrow morgen
soon spoedig/snel
quickly snel/vlug
slowly langzaam/traag
together samen
very zeer/erg
almost bijna
always altijd
usually gewoonlijk
sometimes soms
rarely zelden
never nooit

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Dutch
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] begrijp je me nu?
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] ik heb onmiddelijk hulp nodig
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] ze is erg intelligent
I will always love you [verb + adverb] ik zal altijd van je houden
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] kunnen we samen duits leren?

Pronouns in Dutch

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Dutch. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Dutch
I ik
you jij, je, u
he hij
she zij, ze
we wij, we
they zij

Object Pronouns - Dutch
me mij/me
you jou, uw
him hem
her haar
us ons
them hun

Possessive Pronouns - Dutch
my mijn
your jouw, uw
his zijn
her haar
our onze
their hun

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Dutch
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] ik ben je vriend
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] je spreekt zeer snel
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] hij heeft drie honden
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] ze kan duits spreken
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] we komen niet te laat
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] zij kochten melk en brood

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Dutch
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] kun je mij je naam vertellen?
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] ik geef je geld
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] ze schreef hem een ​​brief
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] ze bezochten haar gisteren
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] kan ze ons helpen?
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] hij gaf hun eten

Possessive Pronouns - Dutch
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] mijn naam is maya
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] je broer woont hier
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] haar moeder kookt voor ons
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] zijn hobby is het lezen van boeken
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] onze droom is om parijs te bezoeken
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] hun huis is niet ver

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Dutch
this is my house dit is mijn huis
that restaurant is far dat restaurant is ver
these apples are delicious deze appels zijn heerlijk
those stars are shiny die sterren zijn glimmend

I hope you learned a lot about the Dutch grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!