Dutch grammar, explained simply

Free bite-size Dutch grammar lessons: articles, word order, verbs and more. Read the lesson, then practise it with spaced repetition on Langrit.

• Personal pronouns (subject) A1 · Subject pronouns in Dutch Personal pronouns are the first building block of any language. In Dutch, they are:
• Articles: de, het & een A1 · Definite articles: de and het Every Dutch noun has a grammatical gender that determines whether it uses de or
• The verb "zijn" (to be) A1 · Conjugation of zijn (to be) Zijn is the most important verb in Dutch. It is irregular, so you must memorize ea
• The verb "hebben" (to have) A1 · Conjugation of hebben (to have) Hebben is the second most essential verb. It is irregular: Pronoun Form Exampl
• Present tense, regular verbs A1 · How to conjugate regular verbs Dutch regular verbs follow a simple pattern. Start from the stem (stam), then a
• Negation: niet & geen A1 · Two ways to say "not" in Dutch Dutch has two negation words: niet and geen. Choosing the right one depends on
• Questions and question words A1 · Yes/No questions (inversion) To make a yes/no question, swap the subject and the verb: Statement Question Jij
• Basic word order (SVO & inversion) A1 · Standard word order: Subject – Verb – Object (SVO) Dutch basic sentences follow the same order as English, sub
• Adjectives and adjective endings A1 · Adjective placement Adjectives can appear in two positions: 1. After the verb (predicative): no ending added D
• Possessive pronouns A1 · Possessive pronouns (bezittelijke voornaamwoorden) Possessive pronouns show ownership. In Dutch: Subject Posse
• Plural nouns A1 · Forming plurals in Dutch Most Dutch nouns form their plural with en or s. Here are the rules: Rule 1: Add en (
• Numbers and telling time A1 · Numbers 0–20 Number Dutch Number Dutch 0 nul 11 elf 1 één 12 twaalf 2 twee 13 dertien 3 drie 14 veertien 4 vie
• Prepositions of place and time A1 · Prepositions of place (voorzetsels van plaats) Dutch English Example in in / inside Ik ben in de keuken. — I a
• Modal verbs (kunnen, willen, moeten, mogen) A1 · What are modal verbs? Modal verbs express ability, desire, obligation, or permission. In Dutch, the four main
• Separable verbs (scheidbare werkwoorden) A1 · What are separable verbs? Many Dutch verbs are made of a prefix + base verb. In a main clause, the prefix sepa
• Er (there is / there are) A1 · Er is / Er zijn: there is / there are The Dutch word er is used like English "there" to express that something
• Conjunctions (en, maar, of, want, omdat) A1 · Coordinating conjunctions, no word order change These conjunctions connect two clauses without changing the wo
• Diminutives (-je) A1 · What are diminutives? Diminutives make things smaller or express affection. Dutch uses them very often, much m
• The perfect tense (Perfectum) A2 · The perfect tense in Dutch The perfect tense (Perfectum / voltooid tegenwoordige tijd) is the most common past
• The simple past (Imperfectum) A2 · The simple past in Dutch The simple past (Imperfectum / onvoltooid verleden tijd) is used mainly in writing an
• Comparatives & superlatives A2 · Comparison in Dutch To compare two things or pick out "the best", Dutch uses short suffixes, much like English
• The om...te construction A2 · The om...te construction To express the purpose of an action ("in order to..."), Dutch uses om ... te + infini
• The imperative (commands & requests) A2 · Forming the imperative The Dutch imperative is simply the stem of the verb (the ikform). No pronoun, no ending
• Talking about the future B1 · Three ways to talk about the future Dutch has three common ways to express the future. The good news: the most
• The conditional (zou + infinitive & als-clauses) B1 · Zou / zouden + infinitive The Dutch conditional ("would") is formed with zou (singular) or zouden (plural) plu
• Reflexive verbs (zich wassen, zich voelen) B1 · What are reflexive verbs? Reflexive verbs are verbs whose action reflects back on the subject. In the dictiona
• The passive voice (Passieve vorm) B1 · The passive voice in Dutch Dutch has two passive forms. One describes an action in progress (present and simpl
• Relative clauses (die / dat / wat / wie) B1 · Relative clauses in Dutch A relative clause adds information about the noun before it, like English "who / whi
• Subordinate clauses (Bijzin) B1 · Subordinate clauses in Dutch A subordinate clause (bijzin) starts with a subordinating conjunction such as omd
• Fixed prepositions (vaste voorzetsels) B2 · What are vaste voorzetsels? Many Dutch verbs and adjectives come with a fixed preposition that you simply have
• Pronominal adverbs (ervan, daarmee, waarop) B2 · What are pronominal adverbs? In Dutch you cannot combine a preposition with het, dat, or wat when referring to
• Indirect speech (dat, of & question words) B2 · Reporting what someone said Indirect speech reports statements, questions, and thoughts without quoting them l