In this lesson we’ll be covering the basic building blocks of sentences. You’ll learn about articles (the gender of words), personal pronouns, important verbs and a lot of words! We’re ending Lesson 2 with a number of exercises where you can sharpen your sentence-building skills.
Contents Lesson 2
- 2a. Articles Feminine, masculine, neuter nouns
- 2b. Personal pronouns Singular & plural pronouns
- 2c. The verb ‘zijn’ The verb ‘to be’
- 2d. The verb ‘hebben’ The verb ‘to have’
- 2e. Possessive adjectives What’s mine, what’s yours?
- 2f. The questioning form How to turn a sentence into a question
- 2g. Numerals You can count on us!
2a. Articles
De is used before masculine and feminine nouns and het before neuter nouns. We usually talk about de- words and het- words. There is no way to tell from a given word whether it is one or the other. It is advisable therefore to learn the article together with the new noun that is being learned.
Een is pronounced very much like an in an apple and also has the same meaning and function as the indefinite article in English: a child in English is een kind in Dutch; a family is een gezin in Dutch.
Note: Nouns and Gender All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common or neuter. It is hard to guess which gender a noun is, so it is best to memorize the genders when memorizing vocabulary. However, two-thirds of Dutch words are common gender (because the common gender has combined the former feminine and masculine genders.) So it may be easier to memorize which nouns are neuter, and then assign common gender to the rest. All diminutives and infinitives used as nouns, as well as colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are neuter. All nouns beginning with ge- and ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns beginning with ge-, be-, and ver-, but not those ending in -ing.
Exercise 1 – definite, indefinite, plural
definite article | indefinite article | plural |
---|---|---|
de zoon – the son | een zoon – a son | de zonen – the sons |
de dochter – the daughter | een dochter – a daughter | de dochters – the daughters |
het kind – the child | een kind – a child | de kinderen – the children |
het gezin – the family | een gezin – a family | de gezinnen – the families |
2b. Personal Pronouns
Exercise 2. – Singular & Plural pronouns
English | Dutch | Note |
---|---|---|
I | ik | The unstressed form je, ze and we is used more often, unless special emphases is required |
You | Je/jij, u | |
He, she, it | Hij, ze/zij |
English | Dutch | Note |
---|---|---|
We | We, wij | The informal pronouns je/jij and jullie are generally used when speaking to people you know well or to family and friends. Otherwise the formal u form is used. |
You | Jullie, u | |
They | Ze, zij |
2c. The Verb ‘Zijn’ = To Be
Exercise 3. Zijn – To Be
One of the most important verbs in the Dutch language is zijn, which is equivalent to the English verb to be.
To be | Zijn |
---|---|
I am | Ik ben |
you are | jij bent |
he, she, it is | hij, zij, het is |
we, you, they are | wij, jullie, zij zijn |
2d. The Verb ‘Hebben’ = To Have
Exercise 4. Hebben – To Have
To have | Hebben |
---|---|
I have | Ik heb |
you have | jij hebt |
he, she, it has | hij, zij, het heeft |
we, you, they have | wij, jullie, zij hebben |
2e. Possessive Adjectives
Exercise 5.
Singular
English | Dutch | Note |
---|---|---|
My | Mijn | |
Your | Je/jouw, uw | jouw is stressed and uw is formal |
His, her | Zijn, haar |
Plural
English | Dutch | Note |
---|---|---|
Our | Ons / Onze | The possessive adjective ons is used before neuter nouns (het-words and onze before masculine and feminine nouns (de-words and before plurals as in: het kind – ons kind / de neef – onze neef – onze neven |
Your | Jullie / Uw | |
Their | Hun |
2f. The Questioning Form
Exercise 6. – The questioning form
In questions the order of subject and verb is reversed, sentence examples:
Subject | Verb | Other elements |
---|---|---|
Je | hebt | een oom |
Hij | is | een man |
Zij | hebben | een dochter |
Wij | hebben | een zoon |
In question form: Reversed
Verb | Subject | Other elements |
---|---|---|
Heb | je | een oom? |
Is | hij | een man? |
Hebben | zij | een dochter? |
Hebben | wij | een zoon? |
2g. Numerals – Telwoorden
Exercise 7.
You’ll notice that the ordinal numbers (first, second, third etc.) follow quite an easy rule in Dutch with some exceptions. To make an ordinal out of a number it usually suffices to add the ending -de to the number, such as the word for second: twee + de = tweede. There two exceptions to this rule: eerste (first) and achtste (eighth).
English number – numeral | Dutch number – numeral |
---|---|
one – first | één – eerste |
two – second | twee – tweede |
three – third | drie – derde |
four – fourth | vier – vierde |
five – fifth | vijf – vijfde |
six – sixth | zes – zesde |
seven – seventh | zeven – zevende |
eight – eighth | acht – achtste |
nine – ninth | negen – negende |
ten – tenth | tien – tiende |
eleven – eleventh | elf – elfde |
twelve – twelfth | twaalf – twaalfde |
thirteen – thirteenth | dertien – dertiende |
fourteen – fourteenth | veertien – veertiende |
fifteen – fifteenth | vijftien – vijftiende |
sixteen – sixteenth | zestien – zestiende |
seventeen – seventeenth | zeventien – zeventiende |
eighteen – eighteenth | achttien – achttiende |
nineteen – nineteenth | negentien – negentiende |
twenty – twentieth | twintig – twintigste |
thirty – thirtieth | dertig – dertigste |
2. 8 New Words – Nieuwe Woorden
Exercise 8.
English | Dutch | English | Dutch | |
---|---|---|---|---|
the brother(s) | de broer(s) | how | hoe | |
the family | de familie | yes | ja | |
the boy(s) | de jongen(s) | mister | meneer | |
the man, husband | de man | Mrs. or madam | mevrouw | |
the woman or wife | de vrouw | beautiful | mooi | |
and | en | no | nee | |
the house | het huis | old | oud | |
the child | het kind | of, from | van | |
the girl | het meisje | what | wat | |
the little sister | het zusje | the sister | de zus |
2.9 The Van Dam Family – De Familie Van Dam
Writing 1.
Translate the following text into English:
Answers
Click here for the answer to this exerciseMister Van Dam is a man. He has a wife. His wife is Mrs Van Dam. Mister and Mrs Van Dam have three children. Wim is the eighteen year old son. Henk is the fifteen year old son. Hannie is their daughter; she is thirteen. Hannie is not a boy, she is a girl. Wim is a brother of Henk. Hannie is their sister. The Van Dam family has a house. It is a beautiful house.
Writing 2.
Answer the questions in Dutch and translate the questions into English.
Try to make complete sentences. Not just yes and no
- Wat is meneer Van Dam?
- Is mevrouw Van Dam een vrouw?
- Hebben zij kinderen?
- Hebben zij twee kinderen?
- Is Wim een meisje?
- Is Henk het zusje van Hannie?
- Is Hannie dertien?
- Zijn Wim en Henk de zusjes van Hannie?
- Heeft Hannie een zusje?
- Heeft de familie Van Dam een mooi huis?
Answers
Click here for the questions in English to this exercise- What is mister Van Dam?
- Is Mrs Van Dam a woman?
- Do they have children?
- Do they have two children?
- Is Wim a girl?
- Is Henk Hannie’s sister?
- Is Hannie thirteen?
- Are Wim and Henk Hannie’s sisters?
- Does Hannie have a sister?
- Does the Van Dam family have a beautiful house?
Click here for the answers to the questions
- He is a man / Hij is een man
- Yes / Ja, mevrouw Van Dam is een vrouw
- Yes, they have children / Ja, ze hebben kinderen
- No, they have three children / Nee, ze hebben drie kinderen
- No, Wim is a boy / Nee, Wim is een jongen
- No, Henk is Hannie’s brother / Nee, Henk is Hannie’s broer
- Yes, Hannie is thirteen / Ja, Hannie is dertien
- No, they are her brothers / Nee, ze zijn haar broers
- No, she does not have a sister / Nee, ze heeft geen zus
- Yes, because Mr. Van Dam is a tax-evading pig
Writing 3. Translate into Dutch
- The child is ten.
- We are family.
- Their daughter is twelve and their son is eighteen.
- Do they have a house?
- Is Wim a girl? (he certainly looks like one)
- Henk is a boy.
- The child has no family.
- I have two brothers and one sister.
- Wim does not have a beautiful house.
- Mrs. van Dam is a woman.
Answers
Click here for the questions in English to this exercise- Het kind is tien.
- Wij zijn familie.
- Hun dochter is twaalf en hun zoon is achttien
- Hebben ze een huis?
- Is Wim een meisje?
- Henk is een jongen?
- Het kind heeft geen familie.
- Ik heb twee broers en één zus
- Wim heeft geen mooi huis
- Mevrouw van Dam is een vrouw