Dutch Conversation-Grammar 1732 Studios

Dutch · Unit 2

Lessons 6 to 10

Parts of Speech I

Onverschilligheid van een geleerde; Gestrafte gulzigheid; De bedrogen bedrieger; In een medicijnkist verdronken; Tantalus

587 lines

Lesson 6: Hebben: infinitive and participles (and 1 more)

The infinitive and the two participles

Every verb has an infinitive and two participles. For have, the infinitive is hebben, to have. Gehad hebben is to have had.

The present participle is hebbend, having. The past participle is gehad, had. Gehad is the form that later joins hebben to make the perfect tenses.

The present participle drops its final e. It keeps the e only before a noun that it describes: de hebbende partij, the possessing party.

Dutch uses the present participle little. A clause with terwijl, meaning while, usually says the same thing.

Have now and had before

Hebben has a present tense and a past tense. The present is ik heb een boek, I have a book. The past is wij hadden een schat, we had a treasure.

The present has three forms for one person: heb, hebt, heeft. The past has one: ik had, jij had, u had, hij had.

More than one person takes hadden in the past, as it takes hebben in the present.

A question puts the verb before the subject, in the past as in the present: had u geduld?

  1. 1

    to have, to have had

    hebben,to have, to have had
    gehadto have, to have had
    hebbento have, to have had
  2. 2

    having, had

  3. 3

    the possessing party

  4. 4

    I have a book.

  5. 5

    Do you have a dog?

hebben · present
ikhebI have
jijhebtyou have
uhebtyou have
hijheefthe has
zijheeftshe has
hetheeftit has
wijhebbenwe have
julliehebbenyou have
zijhebbenthey have
hebben · past
ikhadI had
jijhadyou had
uhadyou had
hijhadhe had
wijhaddenwe had
julliehaddenyou had
zijhaddenthey had
Hebben: infinitive and participles

Infinitive. Present: hebben, to have. Past: gehad hebben, to have had.
Participles. Present: hebbend, having. Past: gehad, had. The present participle drops its final -e, except when it stands before a noun as an adjective, such as de hebbende partij, the possessing party. A clause with terwijl (while) usually stands in for a present-participle phrase.
Hebben: present and past indicative

Present
ik heb         I have
jij hebt       you have
u hebt         you have
hij heeft      he has
zij heeft      she has
het heeft      it has
wij hebben     we have
jullie hebben  you have
zij hebben     they have

Past
ik had         I had
jij had        you had
u had          you had
hij had        he had
wij hadden     we had
jullie hadden  you had
zij hadden     they had
Hebben: present perfect and pluperfect indicative

Present perfect
ik heb gehad         I have had
jij hebt gehad       you have had
u hebt gehad         you have had
hij heeft gehad      he has had
wij hebben gehad     we have had
jullie hebben gehad  you have had
zij hebben gehad     they have had

Pluperfect
ik had gehad         I had had
jij had gehad        you had had
u had gehad          you had had
hij had gehad        he had had
wij hadden gehad     we had had
jullie hadden gehad  you had had
zij hadden gehad     they had had

The present perfect is the present of hebben plus the past participle; the pluperfect is the past of hebben plus the past participle.
Hebben: future and future perfect indicative

Future
ik zal hebben         I shall have
jij zult hebben       you will have
u zult hebben         you will have
hij zal hebben        he will have
wij zullen hebben     we shall have
jullie zullen hebben  you will have
zij zullen hebben     they will have

Future perfect
ik zal gehad hebben      I shall have had
hij zal gehad hebben     he will have had
wij zullen gehad hebben  we shall have had
zij zullen gehad hebben  they will have had

The future is zullen with the infinitive; the future perfect is zullen with the perfect infinitive gehad hebben.
The conditional: present and past

Present conditional
ik zou hebben         I should have
jij zou hebben        you would have
u zou hebben          you would have
hij zou hebben        he would have
wij zouden hebben     we should have
jullie zouden hebben  you would have
zij zouden hebben     they would have

Past conditional
ik zou gehad hebben      I should have had
hij zou gehad hebben     he would have had
wij zouden gehad hebben  we should have had
zij zouden gehad hebben  they would have had

The conditional is zou or zouden with the infinitive; the past conditional is zou or zouden with the perfect infinitive gehad hebben. There is one conditional, not two: zoude is the same word as zou. Multatuli and other writers before the war spell zoude in full beside zou.
The subjunctive is gone

Dutch has no separate subjunctive verb forms; the indicative carries every tense above. A wish or a hypothesis is carried by a modal verb instead: mocht for a hypothesis (mocht hij komen, should he come), zou for the unreal (als hij geduld had, zou hij winnen, if he had patience, he would win). A handful of subjunctive forms survive as fixed phrases: leve de koning, long live the king; het zij zo, so be it; God zegene u, God bless you. Multatuli, the Statenbijbel, and formal Dutch before the war use hebbe and hadde as living verb forms.
Verbs of this lesson, with their principal parts

schrijven      to write                      ik schrijf, ik schreef, ik heb geschreven
komen          to come                       ik kom, ik kwam, ik ben gekomen
toelopen       to run to                     ik loop toe, ik liep toe, ik ben toegelopen
toeroepen      to cry to                     ik roep toe, ik riep toe, ik heb toegeroepen
weten          to know                       ik weet, ik wist, ik heb geweten
zich bemoeien  to meddle with, to interfere  ik bemoei mij, ik bemoeide mij, ik heb mij bemoeid
  1. 6

    Did you have patience?

  2. 7

    We had a treasure.

Lesson 6: Hebben: present perfect and pluperfect indicative (and 1 more)

Hebben plus gehad

The present perfect is the English I have had. Dutch makes it from the present of hebben and the past participle: ik heb gehad.

The pluperfect is the English I had had. Dutch makes it from the past of hebben and the past participle: ik had gehad.

Only hebben changes with the person. Gehad stays the same: hij heeft gehad, wij hadden gehad.

Other words stand between the two parts, and gehad comes last: ik heb geduld gehad, hij had moed gehad.

Zullen plus the infinitive

The future tells what will happen. Dutch makes it from zullen and the infinitive. Ik zal hebben means I shall have.

Zullen changes with the person: ik zal, jij zult, wij zullen. Hebben stays the same. Other words stand between the two parts: ik zal geduld hebben.

The future perfect tells what will have happened. It uses zullen with gehad hebben, the perfect infinitive. Ik zal gehad hebben means I shall have had.

Again only zullen changes. Gehad hebben stays the same for every person.

  1. 8

    I have had patience.

  2. 9

    He had had courage.

  3. 10

    We had had a great book.

  4. 11

    I shall have patience.

  5. 12

    We will have a long winter.

  6. 13

    He will have had it.

hebben · present perfect
ikheb gehadI have had
jijhebt gehadyou have had
uhebt gehadyou have had
hijheeft gehadhe has had
wijhebben gehadwe have had
julliehebben gehadyou have had
zijhebben gehadthey have had
hebben · pluperfect
ikhad gehadI had had
jijhad gehadyou had had
uhad gehadyou had had
hijhad gehadhe had had
wijhadden gehadwe had had
julliehadden gehadyou had had
zijhadden gehadthey had had
hebben · future
ikzal hebbenI shall have
jijzult hebbenyou will have
uzult hebbenyou will have
hijzal hebbenhe will have
wijzullen hebbenwe shall have
julliezullen hebbenyou will have
zijzullen hebbenthey will have
hebben · future perfect
ikzal gehad hebbenI shall have had
hijzal gehad hebbenhe will have had
wijzullen gehad hebbenwe shall have had
zijzullen gehad hebbenthey will have had

Lesson 6: The conditional: present and past (and 1 more)

Zou plus the infinitive

The conditional says what would happen. Dutch makes it from zou or zouden and the infinitive. Ik zou hebben means I should have.

Zou goes with ik, jij, u and hij. Zouden goes with wij, jullie and zij. The pattern is the same as had and hadden.

The past conditional says what would have happened. It uses zou or zouden with gehad hebben: wij zouden een schat gehad hebben.

Zoude is the same word as zou. Multatuli and other writers before the war spell it in full.

Wishes without a subjunctive

Dutch has no separate subjunctive forms. The ordinary forms carry every tense.

Another verb carries a wish or a hypothesis instead. Mocht marks a hypothesis: mocht hij komen, should he come. Zou marks what is not real: als hij geduld had, zou hij winnen.

A few subjunctive forms survive in fixed phrases: leve de koning, long live the king. Het zij zo, so be it.

Multatuli and formal Dutch before the war use hebbe and hadde as living verb forms.

Verbs of this lesson, with their principal parts

  1. 14

    I would write a great book.

  2. 15

    We would have had a treasure.

  3. 16

    The cricket would have sung in winter.

  4. 17

    Should he have patience.

  5. 18

    If he had courage, he would win.

  6. 19

    Long live the king!

hebben · present conditional
ikzou hebbenI should have
jijzou hebbenyou would have
uzou hebbenyou would have
hijzou hebbenhe would have
wijzouden hebbenwe should have
julliezouden hebbenyou would have
zijzouden hebbenthey would have
hebben · past conditional
ikzou gehad hebbenI should have had
hijzou gehad hebbenhe would have had
wijzouden gehad hebbenwe should have had
zijzouden gehad hebbenthey would have had

Onverschilligheid van een geleerde

  1. 20

    A scholar's indifference

  2. 21

    A scholar was busy in his study writing a great book.

  3. 22

    A servant came running up in fright and called out to him: “Sir, sir, the house is on fire!”

  4. 23

    The scholar coolly answered: “Then go and warn my wife, you know very well that I do not concern myself with the household.”

Onverschilligheid
indifference
geleerde
a learned man
studeervertrek
study
boek
book
brand
fire
huis
house
vrouw
my wife (mijn vrouw)
bezig
busy
huishouden
household
groot
great
verschrikt
frightened
Koeltjes
cool(ly)
hierop
thereupon
wel
very well
huis
the house is on fire (er is brand in huis)
waarschuwen
go and warn (ga waarschuwen)

Lesson 6: conversation

  1. 24

    What was the scholar busy with?

  2. 25

    Where did he write?

  3. 26

    What did the frightened servant call out to him?

  4. 27

    What did the scholar coolly answer?

  5. 28

    He was busy writing a great book.

  6. 29

    He wrote in his study.

  7. 30

    The servant called out: “Sir, sir, the house is on fire!”

  8. 31

    He answered: “Then go and warn my wife, you know very well that I do not concern myself with the household.”

  1. 32

    What did he not concern himself with?

  2. 33

    What quality did the scholar therefore have?

  3. 34

    He did not concern himself with the household.

  4. 35

    The scholar was indifferent.

Lesson 6: exercise 10

  1. 36

    The king had eggs for (voor) his breakfast.

  2. 37

    The inn-keeper had had a bill.

  3. 38

    The cricket will sing in the summer.

  4. 39

    We shall have a long winter.

  5. 40

    Somebody has stolen the treasure, which was in the garden.

  6. 41

    You will not have the treasure.

  7. 42

    The commoner said: “I have no servants”

  1. 43

    I shall have the honour.

  2. 44

    He has written a fine book.

  3. 45

    Have (S. and Pl.) patience (geduld)!

  4. 46

    I should have had patience.

  5. 47

    They have had fine (mooie) dogs.

  6. 48

    We had had a fine book.

  7. 49

    He has had courage.

  1. 50

    We should have had a treasure.

  2. 51

    The cricket would have sung in [the] winter.

  3. 52

    Have (S. and Pl.) courage (moed)!

Lesson 7: Zullen: shall, will (and 1 more)

Zullen and the future

Zullen means shall or will. Its present tense makes the future.

Ik zal morgen komen means I will come tomorrow.

The form follows the person. Ik, hij, zij and het take zal. Jij and u take zult. Wij, jullie and zij take zullen.

Zou and zouden

Zullen also makes the conditional, with two forms: zou and zouden.

Zou is for one person: ik zou, jij zou, u zou, hij zou. Zouden is for more than one: wij zouden, jullie zouden, zij zouden.

Zou jij dat doen? means Would you do that? Wij zouden graag blijven means We would like to stay.

Older written Dutch kept a separate form, zoude. It survives only in a very old book.

Zullen: shall, will

Zullen has two forms in living use: the present tense, which makes the future, and zou/zouden, which makes the conditional. The infinitive zullen and the present participle zullende are rarely used on their own.

Conditional

The verb that makes the passive

In a passive sentence the subject receives the action. Het huis wordt gebouwd means The house is being built. The house does not do the building.

Worden makes this sentence. It stands with a participle, here gebouwd. Worden also means to become: hij is ziek geworden means He has become ill.

Worden has one set of forms for every use. It has no separate subjunctive.

The forms of worden

The present tense follows the person: ik word, jij wordt, hij wordt, wij worden. The past tense is ik werd and wij werden. De brief werd geschreven means The letter was written.

The present perfect uses zijn and geworden: ik ben geworden, hij is geworden, wij zijn geworden.

The command is word! It serves one person or several, a friend or a stranger. Older written Dutch had a separate plural command, wordt! It is gone.

Worden: to be (of the passive voice)

Worden, to be, to become (the passive auxiliary).

Worden is a full verb, with one form for every function; there is no separate subjunctive.

Past

  1. 53

    I will come tomorrow.

  2. 54

    Would you do that?

  3. 55

    We would like to stay.

  4. 56

    The house is being built.

  5. 57

    He has become ill.

Zullen: shall, will

Zullen has two forms in living use: the present tense, which makes the future, and zou/zouden, which makes the conditional. The infinitive zullen and the present participle zullende are rarely used on their own.

Present (future)
ik zal
jij zult / je zult
u zult
hij/zij/het zal
wij zullen
jullie zullen
zij zullen

Conditional
ik zou
jij zou
u zou
hij/zij/het zou
wij zouden
jullie zouden
zij zouden

Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, kept a separate subjunctive zoude standing apart from zou; it survives only in a very old book.
Worden: to be (of the passive voice)

Worden, to be, to become (the passive auxiliary).

Worden is a full verb, with one form for every function; there is no separate subjunctive.

Present
ik word
jij wordt / je wordt
u wordt
hij/zij/het wordt
wij worden
jullie worden
zij worden

Past
ik werd
jij werd
u werd
hij werd
wij werden
jullie werden
zij werden

Present perfect (with zijn)
ik ben geworden
jij bent geworden
u bent/is geworden
hij is geworden
wij zijn geworden
jullie zijn geworden
zij zijn geworden

Pluperfect: ik was geworden, wij waren geworden, and so on.

Future: ik zal worden, wij zullen worden, and so on.

Future perfect: ik zal geworden zijn, and so on.

Conditional: ik zou worden (present), ik zou geworden zijn (past).

Imperative: word!, for one person or several, familiar or polite alike.

Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, kept a full subjunctive (worde, werde, zij, ware, zoude) and a separate plural imperative wordt!; both are gone from ordinary written Dutch.
Note 1: worden as the copula "to become"

Note 1. The copula verb worden, to become (to get, to grow, to turn), is conjugated the same way; compare: hij wordt gestraft he is punished; hij wordt een geleerd man he is becoming a learned man.
Note 2: word order in compound tenses

Note 2. In a compound tense the participle, noun or adjective is placed directly after the finite verb: hij zal gestraft worden he will be punished, hij zou rijk geworden zijn he would have grown rich, ik zou kapitein worden I should become a captain. The perfect passive uses zijn plus the plain participle, with no second geworden: hij is gestraft he has been punished, not hij is gestraft geworden.

Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, doubled the participle in the perfect passive (hij is gestraft geworden); that doubling survives in Flemish and German-influenced Dutch, but a Dutch newspaper drops it.
Note 3: translating the English passive progressive

Note 3. Instead of “the house is building, was building” and so on, translate as if the English ran “the house is built,” “the house was built”: het huis wordt gebouwd; het huis werd gebouwd.
Verbs of this lesson, with their principal parts

houden    to keep       ik houd, ik hield, ik heb gehouden
zwemmen   to swim       ik zwem, ik zwom, ik heb gezwommen
zien      to see        ik zie, ik zag, ik heb gezien
afnemen   to take away  ik neem af, ik nam af, ik heb afgenomen
loslaten  to let loose  ik laat los, ik liet los, ik heb losgelaten
  1. 58

    The letter was written.

  2. 59

    She has been punished.

Lesson 7: Note 1: worden as the copula "to become" (and 2 more)

Worden meaning to become

Worden also means to become, to get, to grow or to turn. Its forms are the same in this use.

Compare two sentences. Hij wordt gestraft means He is punished. Hij wordt een geleerd man means He is becoming a learned man.

In the first, a participle follows the verb. In the second, a noun follows it.

The first verb and what follows it

In a compound tense, the participle, noun or adjective comes directly after the verb that carries the person.

Hij zal gestraft worden means He will be punished. Hij zou rijk geworden zijn means He would have grown rich. Ik zou kapitein worden means I would become a captain.

The perfect passive has one participle

The perfect passive uses zijn and the plain participle, with no second geworden. Hij is gestraft means He has been punished.

Older written Dutch added geworden: hij is gestraft geworden. That form survives in Flemish and German-influenced Dutch. A Dutch newspaper drops it.

Translate the plain passive

English can say the house is being built or the house was being built. Dutch uses the plain passive for both.

Translate as if the English said the house is built, the house was built. Het huis wordt gebouwd. Het huis werd gebouwd.

Wordt is the present. Werd is the past.

  1. 60

    He is punished.

  2. 61

    He is becoming a learned man.

  3. 62

    He will be punished.

  4. 63

    He has been punished.

  5. 64

    I would become a captain.

  1. 65

    The house is being built.

  2. 66

    The house was being built.

Gestrafte gulzigheid

  1. 67

    Punished Gluttony

  2. 68

    A dog, which held a piece of meat in its mouth, swam across a river.

  3. 69

    When he noticed his reflection in the water, he thought he saw another dog, which had another piece in its mouth.

  4. 70

    Full of greed, he wanted to take it from him and let go of his own piece of meat.

  5. 71

    He was now without it forever, and how great was his astonishment, when he saw the other dog was likewise without its meat, looking just as sad as he was.

gulzigheid
gluttony
stuk
piece
vlees
meat
bek
mouth (of an animal)
rivier
river
water
water
begeerlijkheid
avidity, greed
verbazing
astonishment
kwijt
to lose, to get rid of (kwijt worden)
over
across, over
Vol
full (of)
kwijt
lost, gone
groot
great, big
bedroefd
sad
als
as ... as (even ... als)
kijkend
looking
ook
also, likewise
zonder
without

Lesson 7: conversation

  1. 72

    What did the dog hold in its mouth?

  2. 73

    What did he swim across?

  3. 74

    Where did he notice his reflection?

  4. 75

    What did he think he saw in it?

  5. 76

    The dog held a piece of meat in its mouth.

  6. 77

    He swam across a river.

  7. 78

    He noticed his reflection in the water.

  8. 79

    He thought he saw another dog.

  1. 80

    What did he think that other dog had?

  2. 81

    What did he want to do out of greed?

  3. 82

    What happened to his piece of meat?

  4. 83

    When was his astonishment great?

  5. 84

    He thought that other dog had another piece of meat in its mouth.

  6. 85

    He wanted to take it from him.

  7. 86

    He let go of his piece of meat and lost it for good.

  8. 87

    His astonishment was great when he saw that the other dog was also without meat.

Lesson 7: exercise 11

  1. 88

    The woman would have been forgotten.

  2. 89

    The sleeping dogs have been awakened.

  3. 90

    The eggs will be laid.

  4. 91

    The cricket would have sung in [the] summer.

  5. 92

    Be (become, S. and Pl.) happy!

  6. 93

    The miser would have been robbed.

  7. 94

    A stone was laid in its (zijne) place.

  1. 95

    The book was written.

  2. 96

    Do not be (become) sad!

  3. 97

    The other dogs were seen in the river.

  4. 98

    I should have been seen in the garden.

  5. 99

    We should have been forgotten.

  6. 100

    The piece (of) meat would have been eaten (gegeten).

  7. 101

    I am robbed.

  1. 102

    You are awakened.

  2. 103

    The palace (paleis, n.) was being built.

  3. 104

    He was observed.

  4. 105

    The song (lied, n.) will be sung.

  5. 106

    We got rid of it.

  6. 107

    The eggs had been eaten.

  7. 108

    The book will be written.

Lesson 8: Conjugation of weak verbs (§ 190) (and 1 more)

Present and past of a regular verb

Antwoorden means to answer. Wensen means to wish. Both are regular weak verbs, so every form follows one pattern.

In the present, ik takes the stem alone: ik antwoord, ik wens. Jij and hij add t: jij wenst, hij antwoordt. Wij, jullie and zij take the whole verb: wij antwoorden.

The past adds de or te to the stem. A stem that ends in a voiced sound, like d, takes de: ik antwoordde. A stem that ends in a voiceless sound, like s, takes te: ik wenste.

More than one person adds n: wij antwoordden, wij wensten.

The other tenses

Every other tense uses an auxiliary verb and a second form of the main verb. The auxiliary verb carries the person.

The present perfect uses hebben and the past participle: wij hebben geantwoord, wij hebben gewenst. The pluperfect uses had: ik had gewenst.

The future uses zal or zult and the infinitive: ik zal antwoorden. The conditional uses zou: ik zou wensen.

The imperative has one form for everyone: antwoord! wens!

Saying not

To say not, Dutch puts niet after the verb. English adds do or did. Dutch adds nothing.

Ik antwoord niet means I do not answer. Ik heb niet means I have not. Ik zong niet means I did not sing.

The verb keeps its own form and its own tense. Only niet is new: hij antwoordt niet, wij wensten niet.

  1. 109

    I do not answer.

  2. 110

    Do you wish him luck?

  3. 111

    We have answered.

  4. 112

    They had wished that he would come.

  5. 113

    He does not answer.

  6. 114

    We did not wish.

Conjugation of weak verbs (§ 190)

Conjugation of weak verbs. Antwoorden, to answer, and wensen, to wish (the book spells it wenschen), are regular weak verbs. Infinitive: antwoorden / wensen. Perfect infinitive: geantwoord hebben / gewenst hebben. Participles: present antwoordend / wensend; past geantwoord / gewenst. Present indicative: ik antwoord, jij antwoordt (antwoord jij?), u antwoordt, hij antwoordt, wij antwoorden, jullie antwoorden, zij antwoorden; ik wens, jij wenst (wens jij?), u wenst, hij wenst, wij wensen, jullie wensen, zij wensen. Past indicative, by 't kofschip, -de after a voiced stem and -te after a voiceless one: ik antwoordde, jij antwoordde, wij antwoordden, jullie antwoordden, zij antwoordden; ik wenste, jij wenste, wij wensten, jullie wensten, zij wensten. Present perfect: ik heb, jij hebt, u hebt, hij heeft, wij hebben, jullie hebben, zij hebben, plus geantwoord / gewenst. Pluperfect: ik had, jij had, and so on, plus geantwoord / gewenst. Future: ik zal, jij zult, and so on, plus antwoorden / wensen. Future perfect: ik zal, jij zult, and so on, plus geantwoord hebben / gewenst hebben. Conditional: ik zou, jij zou, and so on, plus antwoorden / wensen. Past conditional: ik zou, jij zou, and so on, plus geantwoord hebben / gewenst hebben. Imperative: one form serves everyone, singular, plural and polite alike: antwoord! wens! Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, kept a full subjunctive mood (antwoorde, wensche, hebbe, hadde, zoude, and their gij-forms in -et) and a separate plural imperative in -t (antwoordt!, wenscht!), both long gone from ordinary written Dutch.
The negative form (§ 191)

The negative form of all Dutch verbs is like that of the English auxiliary verbs: ik heb niet, I have not; ik ben niet, I am not; ik antwoord niet, I do not answer; ik wens niet, I do not wish; ik zing niet, I do not sing; ik zong niet, I did not sing.
The interrogative form (§ 192)

The interrogative form corresponds likewise to that of the English auxiliaries: heb ik? have I? ben ik? am I? antwoord ik? do I answer? wens ik? do I wish? zing ik? do I sing? zong ik? did I sing?
The negative-interrogative form (§ 193)

Negative-interrogative form: heb ik niet? have I not? ben ik niet? am I not? antwoord ik niet? do I not answer? wens ik niet? do I not wish? zing ik niet? do I not sing? zong ik niet? did I not sing?
Verbs of this lesson, with their principal parts

stortregenen  to pour with rain  het stortregent, het stortregende, het heeft gestortregend
verdwijnen    to disappear       ik verdwijn, ik verdween, ik ben verdwenen

Lesson 8: The interrogative form (§ 192) (and 1 more)

Asking a question

To ask a question, Dutch puts the verb before the subject. English often adds do or did. Dutch adds nothing.

Ik antwoord becomes antwoord ik? and means do I answer. Hij antwoordt becomes antwoordt hij? Zij wensten becomes wensten zij?

The verb keeps its tense. Zong ik? means did I sing.

With jij the verb loses its t: jij antwoordt becomes antwoord jij?

A question with not

A question that also says not joins the two patterns. The verb comes first, then the subject, then niet.

Antwoord ik niet? means do I not answer. Heb ik niet? means have I not. Zong ik niet? means did I not sing.

Niet stands after the subject: antwoordt hij niet? wensten zij niet?

  1. 115

    Does he answer?

  2. 116

    Did they wish?

  3. 117

    Does he not answer?

  4. 118

    Did they not wish?

De bedrogen bedrieger

  1. 119

    The deceived deceiver

  2. 120

    Once it was pouring with rain in London.

  3. 121

    A rich merchant, coming from the Exchange, notices a cab, gets in, and has himself taken to a quarter of the city very far away.

bedrieger
deceiver
koopman
merchant
Beurs
the (Stock) Exchange
Beurs
purse
vigilante
cab (a horse-drawn hansom cab)
wijk
quarter, district
stad
city, town
Londen
in London (in Londen)
bedrogen
deceived
Eens
once, one day
ver
far
erin
he gets in, he got out (hij stapt erin)
brengen
he has himself taken (somewhere) (hij laat zich brengen)
  1. 122

    On the way the merchant notices that he has forgotten to bring his purse.

  2. 123

    What to do now?

  3. 124

    Having arrived in front of the house where he had to be, he got out of the cab and said to the driver: “Be so kind as to give me a match, I have dropped a sovereign in the carriage.”

  4. 125

    At once the driver lays the whip over the horse and soon disappears around the corner of the street.

portemonnee
purse, wallet
koetsier
cabman, driver
lucifertje
little match
souverein
sovereign (a gold coin)
rijtuig
carriage, cab
zweep
whip
paard
horse
hoek
corner
straat
street
aangekomen
arrived
Onderweg
on the way
Voor
before
Dadelijk
immediately
over
over, on
weldra
soon
vallen
I have dropped (some) money (ik heb geld laten vallen)

Lesson 8: conversation

  1. 126

    Where did the rich merchant come from?

  2. 127

    What did he notice?

  3. 128

    Why did he want to have a cab?

  4. 129

    Where did he have himself taken?

  5. 130

    He came from the Exchange.

  6. 131

    He noticed a cab.

  7. 132

    Because he had to go to a quarter of the city that was far away.

  8. 133

    He had himself taken to a quarter of the city very far away.

  1. 134

    What did the merchant notice on the way?

  2. 135

    When did he get out of the cab?

  3. 136

    What did he say to the driver?

  4. 137

    What did the driver do?

  5. 138

    He noticed that he had forgotten his purse.

  6. 139

    He got out of the cab when he had arrived in front of the house where he had to be.

  7. 140

    He said: “Be so kind as to give me a match, I have dropped a sovereign in the carriage.”

  8. 141

    He laid the whip over the horse and disappeared around the corner of the street.

  1. 142

    Who was deceived?

  2. 143

    The merchant was deceived.

Lesson 8: exercise 12

  1. 144

    ik leg

    I lay

  2. 145

    hij legt

    he lays

  3. 146

    wij leggen

    we lay

  4. 147

    jij dient

    you serve

  5. 148

    jullie dienen

    you (plural) serve

  6. 149

    zij dienen

    they serve

  7. 150

    ik bezorg

    I procure

  1. 151

    u bezorgt

    you procure

  2. 152

    zij bezorgen

    they procure

  3. 153

    jij maakt

    you make

  4. 154

    hij maakt

    he makes

  5. 155

    wij maken

    we make

  6. 156

    ik gebruik

    I use

  7. 157

    hij gebruikt

    he uses

  1. 158

    wij gebruiken

    we use

  2. 159

    jij vernacht

    you pass the night

  3. 160

    jullie vernachten

    you (plural) pass the night

  4. 161

    zij vernachten

    they pass the night

Lesson 8: exercise 13

  1. 162

    ik dans niet

    I do not dance

  2. 163

    hij danst niet

    he does not dance

  3. 164

    wij dansen niet

    we do not dance

  4. 165

    jij klaagt niet

    you do not complain

  5. 166

    jullie klagen niet

    you (plural) do not complain

  6. 167

    zij klagen niet

    they do not complain

Lesson 8: exercise 14

  1. 168

    zet ik? zet jij? zet u? zet hij? zetten wij? zetten jullie? zetten zij?

    do they put?

Lesson 9: The noun: het zelfstandig naamwoord. Gender: het geslacht

Two classes, three names

Every Dutch noun is a de-word or a het-word. The class decides the article. De dokter and de matroos are de-words. Het schip and het ongeval are het-words.

Grammars and dictionaries give three names. Masculine and feminine words are de-words. Neuter words are het-words.

The article cannot tell masculine from feminine. Only the pronoun can. A speaker says hij or zij when the noun comes up again: De kapitein? Hij is aan boord.

How the gender shows

Two things often show the gender. One is the meaning, such as a man or a woman. The other is the ending of the word.

The name of a thing can be of any of the three genders. The rules of this lesson give the main groups. For many words, look in the dictionary.

  1. 169

    the doctor, the sailor (de-words)

  2. 170

    the ship, the accident (het-words)

  3. 171

    The captain? He is on board.

  4. 172

    The opportunity? It will not come back.

The noun: het zelfstandig naamwoord. Gender: het geslacht

Dutch nouns fall into two classes, and the class decides the article: de-words, which take de, and het-words, which take het. Grammars and dictionaries call the de-words masculine (mannelijk) or feminine (vrouwelijk) and the het-words neuter (onzijdig). The difference between masculine and feminine shows only in the pronoun that refers back to the noun (hij or zij), never in the article; for the article it is enough to know whether a word is a de-word or a het-word. Names of inanimate objects may be of any of the three. The gender of a noun can generally be told either by its meaning, i. e. natural gender, or by its ending, i. e. word gender. The following are the chief rules for determining gender; in many cases the dictionary will have to be resorted to. Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, kept the three genders apart in the article and the adjective as well (den, der, des), which is why the old grammars set out masculine and feminine at length.
Masculine nouns

Masculine, and so de-words referred to as hij, are:
All appellations of men and male animals. The names of trees: beuk beech, berk birch. Except: linde (f.) lime-tree. The names of coins: euro, cent, and the old gulden guilder and stuiver (five cents). Except: munt coin and guinje guinea, which are feminine. The names of mountains: de Etna, de Mont Blanc. The names of a) months: januari, februari, maart, etc.; b) days: zondag, maandag, dinsdag, woensdag, donderdag, vrijdag, zaterdag; c) seasons: zomer summer, herfst autumn, winter; except lente (f.) spring. The primary nouns corresponding with the root of a strong verb, having an abstract meaning: val fall, greep grasp; but val = trap and lettergreep = syllable are feminine. Note. If such nouns are preceded by an inseparable prefix they are neuter. All dissyllabic nouns ending in -aar, -aard, -erd, -el, -em, -sem, -lm, -rm, -er and most words ending in -en: beukelaar buckler, luiaard sluggard, mosterd mustard, beitel chisel, adem breath, wasem vapour, storm storm, loper strip of carpet, regen rain. All words ending in -ing (if they are not derived from verbs) and -ling: ketting chain, penning medal, krakeling cracknel. The words ending in -dom, expressing a state or condition: adeldom nobility, rijkdom wealth, wasdom growth, eigendom = right of possession.
Feminine nouns

Feminine, and so de-words referred to as zij (ze), are:
All names of female persons and of female animals. Except: het wijf, a coarse word for a woman, never used in polite language.
Such names of materials as are not neuter: kant lace, wol wool, zijde silk.
Most names of flowers, grains, fruits, vegetables and foreign produce: roos rose, lelie lily, bes berry, peer pear, rogge rye, tarwe wheat, spinazie spinach, koffie coffee, siroop syrup, zwavel sulphur.
The names of kinds of vessels: aak barge, bark barque, brik brig. Except: those ending in -er, which are masculine: driemaster three-master, schoener schooner. A ship with a name is referred to as hij: de Willem III verloor zijn masten.
The names of the letters of the alphabet, the figures, the notes and the intervals in music: een onduidelijke a, b, 6, 7, an indistinct a, b, 6, 7; een fa-kruis an F-sharp, een grote terts a major third.
The foreign names of musical instruments: trompet trumpet, gitaar guitar.
All dissyllabic nouns ending in -e, -de, -te, denoting inanimate objects: aarde earth, koude cold, ellende misery, hoogte height. Except: vrede (m.) peace, einde (n.) end, and the collective nouns ending in -te.
All derivative nouns formed with the suffixes -heid, -nis, -teit and all nouns ending in -iek, -age, -ij, -ei, -uw: goedheid goodness, beeltenis image, majesteit majesty; fabriek factory, slijtage wear and tear, bedelarij beggary, lei slate, schaduw shadow.
Most words ending in -ing, -st, -t, formed from verbal roots: beloning reward, gunst favour, vaart canal. Except: dienst (m.) service, last (m.) load, schrift (n.) writing (de Schrift = scripture), gewicht (n.) weight.
Words ending in -schap expressing a body or an association of persons or a condition: burgerschap citizenship, priesterschap priesthood, vriendschap friendship.
In the Netherlands the feminine pronoun is kept for female persons and animals and for the derived nouns in -heid, -ing, -nis, -teit, -schap and -ij; a concrete feminine noun such as roos or tafel is referred to as hij, or in speech as die. Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, marked the feminine in the article and the possessive as well: der vrouw, hare masten.
Neuter nouns

Of the neuter gender, and so het-words, are:
The names of animals that express a whole class and the names of the young of animals: paard horse, zwijn swine, veulen foal, kalf calf.
The collective nouns: volk people, leger army, woud wood, dorp village, gehucht hamlet, gebergte chain of mountains, gebeente bones, geboomte trees; but stad town or city is feminine.
The names of materials: goud gold, brood bread, zout salt, water water. Except: a) some clothing materials; b) the masculine nouns: azijn vinegar, honing honey, inkt ink, mosterd mustard, room cream, wijn wine. Note. Some names of materials are also used to denote an object; in this case they are de-words: het diamant (material), de diamant; het doek linen, de doek (m.) the cloth; het draad wire, de draad (m.) the thread.
The infinitive of verbs and all other parts of speech used as nouns: het opgaan van de zon sunrise, het ondergaan van de maan moonset, het schone the beautiful, het ja the yes, het waarom the why.
Names of continents, countries, provinces and towns: Amerika, Engeland, Zuid-Holland, Londen.
All diminutives ending in -je (-pje, -tje, etc.): kindje little child, bloempje little flower, mannetje little man.
The words ending in -dom, except those which denote a state or condition: bisdom bishopric, vorstendom principality, christendom Christianity, heidendom paganism.
All words ending in -schap when they express a dignity, an occupation or a territory: priesterschap priesthood, koningschap kingship, meesterschap mastery; also: genootschap society, gereedschap tools, gezelschap company. Verwantschap relationship or affinity is feminine.
All words ending in -sel: overblijfsel remainder, raadsel riddle, blauwsel laundry blue.
The nouns formed from the root of a verb with the inseparable prefixes be-, ge-, onder-, ont-, ver-: bedrag amount, gebruik use, onderwijs or onderricht instruction, ontstaan origin, verlies loss. Except: verkoop (m.) sale, verbouw (m.) cultivation, and ontvangst (f.) reception.
Compound nouns

Compound nouns have the gender of the principal word, which is the last: hoef (m.) hoof, de paardenhoef (m.) a horse's hoof; maand (f.) month, de zomermaand (f.) the summer month; geloof (n.) belief, het bijgeloof superstition.
Words with two genders

Some words have two genders with a difference in meaning. Where one of the two is neuter, the article shows the difference: de atlas atlas, het atlas satin; de patroon patron, de patroon cartridge, het patroon pattern; de stof subject, material, het stof dust; de veer feather, spring, het veer ferry. Where both are de-words the difference is one of gender only and shows in the pronoun: deken (m.) = dean, (f.) = blanket; gang (m.) = gait, (f.) = corridor; hoop (m.) = heap, (f.) = hope; muil (m.) = mule or muzzle, (f.) = slipper; traan (m.) = tear, (f.) = train-oil; val (m.) = fall, (f.) = trap; vorst (m.) = prince, (f.) = frost or ridge; zegen (m.) = blessing, (f.) = drag-net. Zaal (f.) is a hall; the neuter zaal for a saddle survives only in older texts, the word being zadel (n.).
Verbs of this lesson, with their principal parts

plegen      to be accustomed, to be in the habit of  ik placht (past tense only; the present pleeg is formal and rare)
verdrinken  to drown, to be drowned                  ik verdrink, ik verdronk, ik ben verdronken
vragen      to ask                                   ik vraag, ik vroeg, ik heb gevraagd

Lesson 9: Masculine nouns

Masculine nouns are de-words

Masculine nouns take de, and the pronoun for them is hij. Some groups of meaning are masculine: men, male animals, trees, stones, coins, mountains, months, days and seasons.

Examples are de beuk, de berk, de euro, de cent and de zomer. A few groups have exceptions. Lente is feminine, though the other seasons are masculine.

Each entry in the list gives the Dutch word and then its English meaning, as in beuk beech. The mark f. means feminine. The mark m. means masculine.

Masculine endings

Some endings mark a masculine word. Words of two syllables ending in -el, -em or -er are masculine, and most words ending in -en: de adem, de regen.

Words ending in -ling are masculine, such as krakeling. Words ending in -ing are masculine too when they do not come from a verb, such as ketting.

Words ending in -dom are masculine when they name a state or condition. De rijkdom is wealth.

  1. 173

    the beech, the birch

  2. 174

    the euro, the cent, the guilder

  3. 175

    the summer and the winter

  4. 176

    the rain, the storm, the breath

  5. 177

    wealth, the right of possession

Lesson 9: Feminine nouns

Feminine nouns are de-words

Feminine nouns take de, and the pronoun for them is zij. Female persons and female animals are feminine. So are most flowers, fruits and vegetables, and some materials, such as wol and zijde.

Examples are de roos, de lelie and de peer. One exception is het wijf, a coarse word that polite speakers never use.

Words of two syllables ending in -e, -de or -te are feminine when they name things. Examples are de aarde, de hoogte and de ellende.

Feminine endings and the pronoun

The endings -heid, -nis, -teit, -iek, -age and -ij mark feminine words: de goedheid, de majesteit, de fabriek. Words in -schap are feminine when they name a group of people or a condition: de vriendschap.

In the Netherlands, zij is kept for female people and animals, and for nouns in -heid, -ing, -nis, -teit, -schap and -ij. A thing such as roos or tafel is referred to as hij, or in speech as die.

The article is de in every case. Only the pronoun differs: De regering? Zij heeft geantwoord.

  1. 178

    the rose, the lily, the pear

  2. 179

    the earth, the height, the misery

  3. 180

    goodness, majesty, the factory

  4. 181

    the reward, the friendship

  5. 182

    The government? It has answered.

Lesson 9: Neuter nouns

Neuter nouns are het-words

Neuter nouns take het. Some groups of meaning are neuter: young animals, groups of people or things, materials, continents, countries and towns.

Examples are het veulen, het kalf, het volk, het leger, het goud, het brood and het zout. A material that becomes an object may change class. Het doek is linen. De doek is a cloth.

Neuter endings and forms

All words ending in -je are neuter, such as het kindje and het bloempje. They name something small.

Words ending in -sel are neuter, such as het raadsel. So are most nouns made from a verb with be-, ge-, onder-, ont- or ver- at the front: het gebruik, het verlies.

A verb used as a noun is neuter too: het opgaan van de zon.

  1. 183

    the horse, the foal, the calf

  2. 184

    the people, the army, the village

  3. 185

    gold, bread, salt, water

  4. 186

    the little child, the little flower

  5. 187

    the riddle, the use, the loss

Lesson 9: Compound nouns (and 1 more)

The last part decides

A compound noun joins two words into one noun. The last part is the main word, and it decides the gender.

Hoef is masculine, so paardenhoef is masculine. Maand is feminine, so zomermaand is feminine.

Geloof is a het-word, so bijgeloof is a het-word too: het geloof, het bijgeloof.

One word, two meanings

A few words have two genders, and the gender changes the meaning.

Where one of the two is a het-word, the article shows the difference. De stof is material. Het stof is dust. De veer is a feather. Het veer is a ferry.

Two de-words with different meanings

Sometimes both meanings are de-words. The article is the same, so only the pronoun shows the meaning.

Hoop as a masculine word is a heap. Hoop as a feminine word is hope. Gang as a masculine word is a gait, and as a feminine word it is a corridor.

So de hoop is groot can mean the heap is big, or the hope is great.

  1. 188

    the hoof, the horse's hoof

  2. 189

    the month, the summer month

  3. 190

    the belief, the superstition

  4. 191

    the material, the dust

  5. 192

    the feather, the ferry

  1. 193

    the patron (or the cartridge), the pattern

  2. 194

    the heap is big, or the hope is great

In een medicijnkist verdronken

  1. 195

    Drowned in a medicine chest

  2. 196

    The doctor of an English ship used to prescribe salt water to his patients for every ailment.

  3. 197

    One evening, during a sailing trip, he fell overboard and drowned.

  4. 198

    The next day the captain, who knew nothing of the accident, asked one of the sailors: “Do you happen to know where the doctor is?”

  5. 199

    “Oh yes,” answered Jack, “he drowned last night in his own medicine chest.”

dokter
physician, doctor
schip
ship, ships
zout
salt
water
salt water (zout water)
avond
evening
van
on the occasion of; during (bij gelegenheid van)
zeiltocht
sailing trip
kapitein
captain
ongeval
accident
medicijnkist
medicine chest
Engels
English
Jawel
oh yes! yes indeed!
zijn
to prescribe to his (patients) (voorschrijven aan zijn)

Lesson 9: conversation

  1. 200

    What did the English doctor use to prescribe for every ailment?

  2. 201

    To whom did he prescribe that?

  3. 202

    When and on what occasion did he fall overboard and drown?

  4. 203

    Of what did the captain know nothing?

  5. 204

    He used to prescribe salt water for every ailment.

  6. 205

    He prescribed that to his patients.

  7. 206

    One evening, during a sailing trip, he fell overboard and drowned.

  8. 207

    The captain knew nothing of the accident.

  1. 208

    What did he ask one of the sailors?

  2. 209

    What did Jack answer?

  3. 210

    He asked one of the sailors: “Do you happen to know where the doctor is?”

  4. 211

    Jack answered: “Oh yes, he drowned last night in his own medicine chest.”

Lesson 9: exercise 16

  1. 212

    een aanbod

    offer

  2. 213

    een afgod

    idol

  3. 214

    een avond

    evening

  4. 215

    een aarde

    earth

  5. 216

    een april

    April

  6. 217

    een arbeid

    labour

  7. 218

    een adem

    breath

  1. 219

    een adeldom

    nobility

  2. 220

    een azijn

    vinegar

  3. 221

    een aak

    longboat

  4. 222

    een boek

    book

  5. 223

    een brand

    fire

  6. 224

    een bek

    beak

  7. 225

    een beeltenis

    image

  1. 226

    een begeerlijkheid

    desirability

  2. 227

    een berk

    birch

  3. 228

    een beurs

    purse

  4. 229

    een bezem

    broom

  5. 230

    een blauwsel

    blue (laundry blue)

  6. 231

    een bankier

    banker

  7. 232

    een blad

    leaf

  1. 233

    een bad

    bath

  2. 234

    een bevel

    command

  3. 235

    een brood

    bread

  4. 236

    een boom

    tree

  5. 237

    een bouw

    building, construction

  6. 238

    een beuk

    beech

  7. 239

    een beitel

    chisel

  1. 240

    een bark

    barque

  2. 241

    een beloning

    reward

  3. 242

    een bedelarij

    beggary

  4. 243

    een bisdom

    bishopric

  5. 244

    een bloempje

    little flower

  6. 245

    een bedrag

    amount

  7. 246

    een bes

    berry

  1. 247

    een brik

    brig

  2. 248

    een christendom

    Christianity

  3. 249

    een cent

    cent

  4. 250

    een canapé

    sofa

  5. 251

    een dag

    day

  6. 252

    een dood

    death

  7. 253

    een dorpsherberg

    village inn

  1. 254

    een dracht

    dress, costume

  2. 255

    een dorst

    thirst

  3. 256

    een duif

    pigeon

  4. 257

    een december

    December

  5. 258

    een dienst

    service

  6. 259

    een dwaasheid

    folly

  7. 260

    een doek

    cloth

  1. 261

    een diamant

    diamond

  2. 262

    een dinsdag

    Tuesday

  3. 263

    een dienstbaarheid

    servitude

  4. 264

    een driemaster

    three-master

  5. 265

    een draad

    thread

  6. 266

    een eten

    food, meal

  7. 267

    een ei

    egg

  1. 268

    een einde

    end

  2. 269

    een eikenloof

    oak leaves

  3. 270

    een ellende

    misery

  4. 271

    een fabriek

    factory

  5. 272

    een februari

    February

  6. 273

    een goed

    goods, property

  7. 274

    een gelegenheid

    occasion

  1. 275

    een gebergte

    mountain range

  2. 276

    een guinje

    guinea

  3. 277

    een gat

    hole

  4. 278

    een goedheid

    goodness

  5. 279

    een genootschap

    society

  6. 280

    een graan

    grain

  7. 281

    een gulden

    guilder

  1. 282

    een gereedschap

    tools

  2. 283

    een gewin

    gain

  3. 284

    een goud

    gold

  4. 285

    een gehucht

    hamlet

  5. 286

    een gebruik

    use

  6. 287

    een gezelschap

    company

  7. 288

    een gebeente

    bones

  1. 289

    een honger

    hunger

  2. 290

    een hond

    dog

  3. 291

    een honing

    honey

  4. 292

    een heidendom

    paganism

  5. 293

    een huis

    house

  6. 294

    een hoofd

    head

  7. 295

    een hemel

    sky, heaven

  1. 296

    een horloge

    watch

  2. 297

    een hoogte

    height

  3. 298

    een hand

    hand

  4. 299

    een invloed

    influence

  5. 300

    een inkt

    ink

  6. 301

    een juni

    June

  7. 302

    een jaar

    year

  1. 303

    een krekel

    cricket

  2. 304

    een kalf

    calf

  3. 305

    een kind

    child

  4. 306

    een kleed

    garment, cloth

  5. 307

    een kleinood

    jewel

  6. 308

    een kruin

    crown (of the head, of a tree)

  7. 309

    een kracht

    strength

  1. 310

    een koffie

    coffee

  2. 311

    een koude

    cold

  3. 312

    een lucifertje

    little match

  4. 313

    een lepel

    spoon

  5. 314

    een lam

    lamb

  6. 315

    een lied

    song

  7. 316

    een lid

    member, limb

  1. 317

    een lucht

    air

  2. 318

    een lei

    slate

  3. 319

    een lelie

    lily

  4. 320

    een linde

    lime-tree

  5. 321

    een lettergreep

    syllable

  6. 322

    een last

    load

  7. 323

    een lichaam

    body

  1. 324

    een leger

    army

  2. 325

    een maaltijd

    meal

  3. 326

    een misdaad

    crime

  4. 327

    een maand

    month

  5. 328

    een maart

    March

  6. 329

    een mond

    mouth

  7. 330

    een maag

    stomach

  1. 331

    een mosterd

    mustard

  2. 332

    een maandag

    Monday

  3. 333

    een majesteit

    majesty

  4. 334

    een nacht

    night

  5. 335

    een ontbijt

    breakfast

  6. 336

    een ongesteldheid

    indisposition

  7. 337

    een onderwijs

    instruction

  1. 338

    een ontstaan

    origin

  2. 339

    een oktober

    October

  3. 340

    een oog

    eye

  4. 341

    een overblijfsel

    remainder

  5. 342

    een plaats

    place

  6. 343

    een plan

    plan

  7. 344

    een pen

    pen

  1. 345

    een pracht

    splendour

  2. 346

    een peer

    pear

  3. 347

    een paard

    horse

  4. 348

    een prijs

    price

  5. 349

    een rekening

    bill

  6. 350

    een rivier

    river

  7. 351

    een rijtuig

    carriage

  1. 352

    een rots

    rock

  2. 353

    een rad

    wheel

  3. 354

    een rund

    head of cattle

  4. 355

    een rij

    row

  5. 356

    een room

    cream

  6. 357

    een robijn

    ruby

  7. 358

    een rijksdaalder

    rijksdaalder (two and a half guilders)

  1. 359

    een regen

    rain

  2. 360

    een raadsel

    riddle

  3. 361

    een rogge

    rye

  4. 362

    een rijkdom

    wealth

  5. 363

    een schat

    treasure

  6. 364

    een steen

    stone

  7. 365

    een schouwburg

    theatre

  1. 366

    een stokslag

    blow with a stick

  2. 367

    een stuk

    piece

  3. 368

    een straat

    street

  4. 369

    een stad

    town

  5. 370

    een schip

    ship

  6. 371

    een sieraad

    ornament

  7. 372

    een spel

    game

  1. 373

    een slot

    lock, castle

  2. 374

    een sofa

    sofa

  3. 375

    een standbeeld

    statue

  4. 376

    een som

    sum

  5. 377

    een september

    September

  6. 378

    een stam

    trunk, stem

  7. 379

    een schoener

    schooner

  1. 380

    een storm

    storm

  2. 381

    een siroop

    syrup

  3. 382

    een schaduw

    shadow

  4. 383

    een slijtage

    wear and tear

  5. 384

    een tuin

    garden

  6. 385

    een twist

    quarrel

  7. 386

    een tak

    branch

  1. 387

    een tafel

    table

  2. 388

    een tralie

    bar (of a grating)

  3. 389

    een turf

    peat

  4. 390

    een tijd

    time

  5. 391

    een trompet

    trumpet

  6. 392

    een tarwe

    wheat

  7. 393

    een uurwerk

    clockwork

  1. 394

    een uniform

    uniform

  2. 395

    een vinger

    finger

  3. 396

    een vlees

    meat

  4. 397

    een vigilante

    cab

  5. 398

    een vrees

    fear

  6. 399

    een verjaardag

    birthday

  7. 400

    een vlo

    flea

  1. 401

    een vat

    barrel

  2. 402

    een verbazing

    astonishment

  3. 403

    een vogeltje

    little bird

  4. 404

    een verdriet

    sorrow

  5. 405

    een vrede

    peace

  6. 406

    een vonnis

    sentence, verdict

  7. 407

    een vaderland

    native country

  1. 408

    een val

    fall

  2. 409

    een vriendschap

    friendship

  3. 410

    een veulen

    foal

  4. 411

    een verwantschap

    relationship

  5. 412

    een verlies

    loss

  6. 413

    een volk

    people

  7. 414

    een vorstendom

    principality

  1. 415

    een winter

    winter

  2. 416

    een water

    water

  3. 417

    een weg

    road

  4. 418

    een wind

    wind

  5. 419

    een wijn

    wine

  6. 420

    een wortel

    root, carrot

  7. 421

    een wasdom

    growth

  1. 422

    een waard

    innkeeper

  2. 423

    een wacht

    watch, guard

  3. 424

    een wol

    wool

  4. 425

    een wasem

    vapour

  5. 426

    een zinnebeeld

    emblem

  6. 427

    een zomer

    summer

  7. 428

    een zout

    salt

Lesson 10: Declension: verbuiging

A noun has two forms

A Dutch noun does not change for the job it does in the sentence. It changes only for number.

The singular is the form for one thing: de vorst. The noun has one singular form and one plural form.

De vorst komt. Ik zie de vorst. Het paleis van de vorst. The noun vorst looks the same each time.

Case in older Dutch

A case is a form of a noun that shows its job in the sentence. Modern Dutch nouns have no cases.

Older written Dutch had them, and so did Multatuli. A noun could take an ending to show that it was the owner of something.

Most nouns took -s, as in des velds. A small group took -en, as in des boden and des harten.

  1. 429

    The monarch is coming.

  2. 430

    I see the monarch.

  3. 431

    the palace of the monarch

Declension: verbuiging

A noun is not declined for case. It has two forms, the singular and the plural, and the same form serves as subject, object and after a preposition: de vorst komt, ik zie de vorst, het paleis van de vorst. Possession is expressed with van or, for persons, with -s. Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, had two declensions, a strong one with the genitive in -s (des vorsten, des velds) and a weak one with the genitive in -en (des boden, des harten).
The noun in the singular: possession

The singular (enkelvoud) of a noun has one form, whatever its place in the sentence. Possession is expressed in two ways.

With van, for any noun: van het huis of the house, van het moeras of the swamp, van de loods of the pilot, van het gebergte of the mountain range, van het einde of the end, van de mens, van de paus, van de getuige.

With -s on the name of a person or a family word standing before the noun it possesses: moeders verjaardag mother's birthday, tantes hondje aunt's little dog, Maries hoed Mary's hat, vaders huis father's house. The -s is written straight on to the name; an apostrophe is used only after a name ending in a vowel that would otherwise be read short (Anna's hoed, Otto's boek) or in s (Hans' boek). A pronoun or an adjective before such an expression keeps its ordinary form: mijn moeders verjaardag, mijn oude tantes hondje.

Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, had a genitive case with its own endings, -s for most masculine and neuter nouns (des vaders, des velds) and -en for a small weak class (des boden, des getuigen, des menschen, des prinsen, des harten), and it survives in fixed phrases such as de heer des huizes, in naam der wet, 's lands wijs.
The plural: meervoud

Rules for the formation of the plural (meervoud): All nouns take -en or -s. Note. A few neuter nouns take -er- before the plural ending.

The following nouns take -s in the plural: a) all diminutives (verkleinwoorden), which are of more frequent use than in English or German: het huisje, de huisjes; het boompje the little tree, de boompjes. b) nearly all words ending in -el, -em, -en, -aar, -ier, -aard, -erd, -age; some of them admit also of the ending -en, especially in elevated style; conversational language and common style prefer -s. Examples: lepel spoon, lepels; bezem broom, bezems; keten chain, ketens or ketenen; leraar teacher, leraars or leraren; bankier banker, bankiers; luiaard sluggard, luiaards; lieverd darling, lieverds; bosschage (n.) little wood, bosschages. Except: engel angel, lauwer laurel, wonder wonder, miracle, christen Christian, which take -en: engelen, lauweren, wonderen, christenen. c) The words: ra (f.) yard, vla (f.) custard, eega husband, kok cook, bruigom bridegroom, vaandrig ensign; plural: ra's, vla's, eega's, koks, bruigoms, vaandrigs. A word ending in a single vowel takes the -s with an apostrophe.

All the other nouns take -en: pen (f.) pen, pennen; hoed (m.) hat, hoeden; duif (f.) pigeon, duiven; turf (f.) peat, turven; huis (n.) house, huizen; muis (f.) mouse, muizen. Note. In words of foreign origin s is generally written in the plural instead of z: struis (m.) ostrich, struisen; kruis (n.) cross, kruisen; kaars (f.) candle, kaarsen; kers cherry, kersen; dans (m.) dance, dansen; krans (m.) garland, kransen; lans (f.) lance, lansen; schrans sponger, schransen; prins, prinsen; spons (f.) sponge, sponsen; boomschors (f.) bark, boomschorsen; paus pope, pausen; saus sauce, sausen; kous stocking, kousen.

Some neuter nouns take -er- before the plural ending -en: ei, eieren; goed goods (ware), goederen; kalf calf, kalveren; lam lamb, lammeren; lied song, liederen; rad wheel, raderen; volk nation, volken or volkeren; gemoed mind, gemoederen.

A few neuter nouns have -eren beside another plural, with a difference of meaning or of style: blad, bladeren (leaves of a tree) and bladen (sheets, newspapers); hoen hen, hoenders; kind, kinderen; rund cow, runderen.
The noun's two forms: strong nouns

A noun with its article has one form in the singular and one in the plural, and the article of the plural is de for every noun.

Masculine  de leraar, plural de leraars or de leraren; een mond, plural monden.
Feminine   de vrouw, plural de vrouwen; een hand, plural handen.
Neuter     het veld (field), plural de velden; een boekje, plural boekjes.

The same forms serve as subject, object and after a preposition: de leraar spreekt, ik zie de leraar, het boek van de leraar, aan de leraar. Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, gave each of these nouns four cases (des leeraars, den leeraar; der vrouw; des velds, den velde), and the old dative survives in te velde in the field and in phrases such as in den beginne.
The noun's two forms: the old weak nouns

The nouns of the old weak class go like every other noun: de bode messenger, plural de boden; een graaf count, plural graven; het hart heart, plural de harten. Older written Dutch, and Multatuli, gave these a genitive in -en (des boden, eens graven, des harten), and that ending is met in fixed phrases such as van ganser harte with all one's heart and in the official name of Den Haag, 's-Gravenhage, the count's hedge.
Verbs of this lesson, with their principal parts

toelaten    to admit, to permit           ik laat toe, ik liet toe, ik heb toegelaten
nemen       to take                       ik neem, ik nam, ik heb genomen
weggaan     to go away                    ik ga weg, ik ging weg, ik ben weggegaan
hangen      to hang                       ik hang, ik hing, ik heb gehangen
wegdrijven  to drive away; to drift away  ik drijf weg, ik dreef weg, ik heb weggedreven (driven away), ik ben weggedreven (drifted away)

Lesson 10: The noun in the singular: possession

Two ways to show who owns

Possession means that a thing belongs to someone. Dutch has two ways to show it.

The first way uses van, and it works for any noun: het huis van de vader, van het moeras, van de loods.

The second way adds -s to the name of a person or to a family word: Maries hoed, vaders huis, moeders verjaardag. The owner comes first, then the thing owned.

Writing the -s

The -s is written straight on to the name. After a name that ends in a vowel, an apostrophe keeps the vowel long: Anna's hoed, Otto's boek.

After a name that ends in s, the apostrophe stands alone: Hans' boek.

A word before the owner keeps its ordinary form: mijn moeders verjaardag, mijn oude tantes hondje.

Older written Dutch had a separate form for the owner. It survives in fixed phrases such as in naam der wet.

  1. 432

    the house of the father

  2. 433

    mother's birthday

  3. 434

    aunt's little dog

  4. 435

    Mary's hat

  5. 436

    my old aunt's little dog

  6. 437

    in the name of the law

Lesson 10: The plural: meervoud

Plural: -en or -s

Every Dutch noun forms its plural with -en or with -s. The end of the word mostly decides which one.

A diminutive is a word for a small thing. Every diminutive takes -s: het huisje, de huisjes.

Most other nouns take -en: de hoed, de hoeden. A final f becomes v: de duif, de duiven. A final s usually becomes z: het huis, de huizen.

Many borrowed words keep the s: de prins, de prinsen.

Nouns that take -s, and plurals in -eren

Nearly all words that end in -el, -em, -en, -aar or -ier also take -s: de lepel, de lepels. Some admit -en as well. Conversation prefers -s.

A few words take -en although their ending belongs to this group: de engel, de engelen.

A word that ends in a single vowel takes -s with an apostrophe: ra's, vla's.

Some neuter nouns put -er- before -en: het ei, de eieren. Het kind becomes de kinderen.

  1. 438

    the little house, the little houses

  2. 439

    the spoon, the spoons

  3. 440

    the angel, the angels

  4. 441

    the pigeon, the pigeons

  5. 442

    the house, the houses

  1. 443

    the prince, the princes

  2. 444

    the egg, the eggs

  3. 445

    the child, the children

Lesson 10: The noun's two forms: strong nouns

One plural article for every noun

A noun with its article has one singular form and one plural form. The article of the plural is de for every noun, whatever its gender.

De vrouw becomes de vrouwen. Het veld becomes de velden. The plural of een mond is monden, with no article.

The same form serves as subject, as object and after a preposition: de leraar spreekt, ik zie de leraar, aan de leraar.

Older written Dutch gave each noun four cases, such as den velde. A few survive in fixed phrases: in den beginne.

The noun's two forms: strong nouns

A noun with its article has one form in the singular and one in the plural, and the article of the plural is de for every noun.

  1. 446

    the teacher, the teachers

  2. 447

    a mouth, mouths

  3. 448

    the woman, the women

  4. 449

    a hand, hands

  5. 450

    the field, the fields

  1. 451

    a little book, little books

  2. 452

    the book of the teacher

Lesson 10: The noun's two forms: the old weak nouns

Old weak nouns follow the same pattern

A small group of nouns once formed a separate class, the old weak nouns. Today they go like every other noun.

Each has one singular and one plural: de bode, de boden. Een graaf becomes graven. Het hart becomes de harten.

Older written Dutch gave these nouns an ending in -en for the owner, as in des boden and des harten.

That ending survives in fixed phrases: van ganser harte, and 's-Gravenhage, the official name of Den Haag.

  1. 453

    the messenger, the messengers

  2. 454

    a count, counts

  3. 455

    the heart, the hearts

  4. 456

    with all one's heart

  5. 457

    The Hague, the count's hedge

Tantalus

  1. 458

    Tantalus

  2. 459

    Tantalus, the son of Jupiter, was so loved by the gods that Jupiter admitted him to the meals of the gods and entrusted him with his plans for the future.

  3. 460

    But Tantalus passed on to the mortals what he had heard from his father.

zoon
son
goden
the gods
toekomst
future
vader
father
geliefd
loved
Maar
but
  1. 461

    For this crime he was set in the water in the underworld.

  2. 462

    But he always had to suffer thirst, for every time he wanted to take a drink, the water went away.

  3. 463

    Apples hung above his head, but every time he tried to pluck them, the wind drove the branches away.

  4. 464

    According to others a rock must have hung above his head, and he lived in the everlasting fear that it would come crashing down.

misdaad
crime
onderwereld
underworld
dorst
thirst
slok
draught, sip
hoofd
head
wind
wind
rots
rock
vrees
fear
Wegens
on account of, because of
Volgens
according to
boven
above, over
echter
however
want
for, because
telkens
every time
hingen
there hung (er hingen)
lijden
to suffer thirst (dorst lijden)
gezet
to be set; he was set (gezet worden)

Lesson 10: conversation

  1. 465

    Who was Tantalus?

  2. 466

    How much was he loved by the gods?

  3. 467

    What did the gods entrust to him?

  4. 468

    What did Tantalus pass on to the mortals?

  5. 469

    Tantalus was the son of Jupiter.

  6. 470

    He was so loved by the gods that Jupiter admitted him to the meals of the gods.

  7. 471

    Jupiter entrusted him with his plans for the future.

  8. 472

    He passed on to the mortals what he had heard from his father.

  1. 473

    How was he punished?

  2. 474

    Could he quench his thirst? No, for . . .

  3. 475

    Why could he not pluck the apples above his head?

  4. 476

    What, according to others, must have hung above his head?

  5. 477

    He was set in the water in the underworld.

  6. 478

    No, for every time he wanted to take a drink, the water went away.

  7. 479

    Because the wind drove the branches away every time.

  8. 480

    According to others a rock must have hung above his head.

  1. 481

    What did Tantalus continually fear?

  2. 482

    He continually feared that the rock would come crashing down.

Lesson 10: exercise 17

  1. 483

    de vorst

    the monarch

  2. 484

    een getuige

    a witness

  3. 485

    de lepel

    the spoon

  4. 486

    een boompje

    a little tree

  5. 487

    de pen

    the pen

  6. 488

    een moeder

    a mother

  7. 489

    het dorp

    the village

  8. 490

    het boompje

    the little tree

Lesson 10: exercise 18

  1. 491

    de avonden

    the evenings

  2. 492

    de boeken

    the books

  3. 493

    de bruigoms

    the bridegrooms

  4. 494

    de bekken

    the beaks

  5. 495

    de bezems

    the brooms

  6. 496

    de beeltenissen

    the images

  7. 497

    de beurzen

    the purses

  1. 498

    de boorden

    the boards

  2. 499

    de bankiers

    the bankers

  3. 500

    de christenen

    the Christians

  4. 501

    de dorpsherbergen

    the village inns

  5. 502

    de dokters

    the doctors

  6. 503

    de dronken

    the draughts

  7. 504

    de eega's

    the husbands (spouses)

  1. 505

    de engelen

    the angels

  2. 506

    de goederen

    the goods

  3. 507

    de guinjes

    the guineas

  4. 508

    de gierigaards

    the misers

  5. 509

    de geneesheren

    the physicians

  6. 510

    de honden

    the dogs

  7. 511

    de herbergiers

    the innkeepers

  1. 512

    de huizen

    the houses

  2. 513

    de hoeken

    the corners

  3. 514

    de hoofden

    the heads

  4. 515

    de jaren

    the years

  5. 516

    de krekels

    the crickets

  6. 517

    de koks

    the cooks

  7. 518

    de koningen

    the kings

  1. 519

    de knechten

    the servants

  2. 520

    de koetsiers

    the coachmen

  3. 521

    de lauweren

    the laurels

  4. 522

    de lucifertjes

    the little matches

  5. 523

    de monden

    the mouths

  6. 524

    de matrozen

    the sailors

  7. 525

    de medicijnkisten

    the medicine chests

  1. 526

    de misdaden

    the crimes

  2. 527

    de maaltijden

    the meals

  3. 528

    de nachten

    the nights

  4. 529

    de heren

    the gentlemen

  5. 530

    de gastheren

    the hosts

  6. 531

    de hertogen

    the dukes

  7. 532

    de prinsen

    the princes

  1. 533

    de ketens

    the chains

  2. 534

    de duiven

    the pigeons

  3. 535

    de lammeren

    the lambs

  4. 536

    de runderen

    the cattle

  5. 537

    de gemoederen

    the minds

  6. 538

    de liederen

    the songs

  7. 539

    de luiaards

    the sluggards

  1. 540

    de huisjes

    the little houses

  2. 541

    de loodsen

    the pilots

  3. 542

    de einden

    the ends

  4. 543

    de huizen

    the houses

  5. 544

    de gebergten

    the mountain ranges

  6. 545

    de klinkers

    the vowels

  7. 546

    de maten

    the comrades

  1. 547

    de medeklinkers

    the consonants

  2. 548

    de muizen

    the mice

  3. 549

    de ongevallen

    the accidents

  4. 550

    de profeten

    the prophets

  5. 551

    de plaatsen

    the places

  6. 552

    de paarden

    the horses

  7. 553

    de pausen

    the popes

  1. 554

    de patiënten

    the patients

  2. 555

    de plannen

    the plans

  3. 556

    de ra's

    the yards (of a ship)

  4. 557

    de reizigers

    the travellers

  5. 558

    de rekeningen

    the bills

  6. 559

    de rivieren

    the rivers

  7. 560

    de rijtuigen

    the carriages

  1. 561

    de rotsen

    the rocks

  2. 562

    de schatten

    the treasures

  3. 563

    de stenen

    the stones

  4. 564

    de schouwburgen

    the theatres

  5. 565

    de stokslagen

    the blows with a stick

  6. 566

    de studeervertrekken

    the studies (rooms)

  7. 567

    de stukken

    the pieces

  1. 568

    de straten

    the streets

  2. 569

    de stervelingen

    the mortals

  3. 570

    de tuinen

    the gardens

  4. 571

    de turven

    the peats

  5. 572

    de twisten

    the quarrels

  6. 573

    de takken

    the branches

  7. 574

    de vaandrigs

    the ensigns

  1. 575

    de vla's

    the custards

  2. 576

    de vrouwen

    the women

  3. 577

    de vorsten

    the monarchs

  4. 578

    de volken

    the peoples

  5. 579

    de vingers

    the fingers

  6. 580

    de vrekken

    the misers

  7. 581

    de vaders

    the fathers

  1. 582

    de winters

    the winters

  2. 583

    de winden

    the winds

  3. 584

    de wonderen

    the wonders

  4. 585

    de zomers

    the summers

  5. 586

    de zwepen

    the whips

  6. 587

    de zeilpartijen

    the sailing trips

The particulars

The course
Valette, Dutch Conversation-Grammar (1913) and its Key (1893); Defense Language Institute, Dutch Refresher Course, Books I to III (1961). Public domain. The teaching pages, the readings' English, the answers to the conversations and the narration are ours.
Reading aloud
Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
The book
Max Havelaar, the work this course leads to, free to read here.
Data
JSON · Markdown · A guide for agents
Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.