Dutch for Beginners:

Dutch for Beginners

Dutch is the mother tongue of over 21 million people: almost all of the inhabitants of The Netherlands, about half of the people living in Belgium (those living in Flanders or “Vlaanderen”), and many inhabitants of former Dutch colonies like Suriname.

 To Be Verbs

As in English, the verb “zijn” (to be) is a very important word. It is used mostly as an auxilary verb, but it can also be used as a notional verb meaning “to be, to exist”. The key forms of the verb are as follows:

Tegenwoordige tijd	Present tense
Ik ben	I am
Jij bent / ben jij (*)	You are (informal, singular)
Hij, zij is	He, she is
U bent (**)	You are (polite, singular or plural)
Wij zijn	We are
Jullie zijn	You are (informal, plural)
Zij zijn	They are

(*) In so-called inverted sentences (such as questions), where the personal pronoun follows the verb, “ben” (instead of “bent”) is used with “jij”. E.g., “Jij bent een student” = “You are a student”; but: “Ben jij een student?” = “Are you a student?” (**) “U is” is occasionally used, but this is considered very old-fashioned by most Dutch people.

Verleden tijd	Past tense
Ik was	I was
Jij was	You were (informal, singular)
Hij, zij was	He, she was
U was	You were (polite, singular or plural)
Wij waren	We were
Jullie waren	You were (informal, plural)
Zij waren	They were

Voltooide tijd	Perfect tense
Ik ben geweest	I have been
Jij bent geweest	You have been (informal, singular)
Hij, zij is geweest	He, she has been
U bent geweest	You have been (polite, singular or plural)
Wij zijn geweest	We have been
Jullie zijn geweest	You have been (informal, plural)
Zij zijn geweest	They have been

To Have Verb

The verb “hebben” (to have) is another important word. It is used both as a notional verb meaning “to possess, to own” and as an auxilary verb. The key forms of the verb are as follows:

Tegenwoordige tijd	Present tense
Ik heb	I have
Jij hebt / heb jij (*)	You have (informal, singular)
Hij, zij heeft	He, she has
U heeft (**)	You have (polite, singular or plural)
Wij hebben	We have
Jullie hebben	You have (informal, plural)
Zij hebben	They have

(*) In so-called inverted sentences (such as questions), where the personal pronoun follows the verb, “heb” (instead of “hebt”) is used with “jij”. E.g., “Jij hebt een boek” = “You have a book”; but: “Heb jij een boek?” = “Do you have a book?” (**) “U hebt” is sometimes also used.

Verleden tijd	Past tense
Ik had	I had
Jij had	You had (informal, singular)
Hij, zij had	He, she had
U had	You had (polite, singular or plural)
Wij hadden	We had
Jullie hadden	You had (informal, plural)
Zij hadden	They had

 

Voltooide tijd	Perfect tense
Ik heb gehad	I have had
Jij hebt gehad	You have had (informal, singular)
Hij, zij heeft gehad	He, she has had
U heeft gehad	You have had (polite, singular or plural)
Wij hebben gehad	We have had
Jullie hebben gehad	You have had (informal, plural)
Zij hebben gehad	They have had

 Basic Vocabulary

The following words are indispensable if you want to understand Dutch. They are “building blocks” that are used over and again!

Belangrijke woorden	Important words
Een	A Indefinite article, singular (as in English, no article is used for the plural indefinite form). E.g., “een kind” = “a child”; “kinderen” = “children”.
Het	The Definite article, singular; used with a limited group of nouns. E.g., “het kind” = “the child”.
De	The Definite article, used for the singular form of all other nouns, as well as the plural form of allnouns that can have an article. E.g., het kind, but “de kinderen” = “the children”.
En	And
Of	Or
Omdat	Because
Ondanks	In spite of
Daarom	Therefore
Alle, allemaal	All
Elke	Every
Iedereen	Everyone
Wie?	Who?
Wat?	What?
Waar?	Where?
Waarom?	Why?
Hoe?	How?
Ik	I
Jij	You
U	You (polite form, singular or plural)
Hij	He
Zij (1)	She
Wij	We
Jullie	You (plural)
Zij (2)	They
Mijn	My
Jouw	Your
Uw	Your (polite form, singular or plural)
Zijn	His
Haar	Her
Ons	Our
Jullie	Your (plural)
Hun	Their
Omhoog	Up
Omlaag	Down
Links	Left
Rechts	Right
Binnen	Inside
Buiten	Outside
Voor (1)	In front of
Achter	Behind
Naast	Next to
Bij	Near
Naar	Towards
Vanaf	Away from; or: Starting at
Eerste	First
Laatste	Last
Voor (2), or: Voordat	Before
Na, or: Nadat	After
Veel	Much; many
Weinig	Little; few
Meer	More
Minder	Less
Meest	Most
Minst	Least
Met	With
Zonder	Without

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