There are Dutch verbs that end in -n instead of the usual -en in the infinitive.
A high frequency verb that uses -n in the infinitive ending is doen, which means *to do
ik doe
jij doet
u doet
hij/zij/het doet
wij doen
jullie doen
zij doen
Another verb of this nature is the verb gaan = to go.
ik ga
jij gaat
u gaat
hij/zij/het gaat
wij gaan
jullie gaan
zij gaan
Verbs with a stem that ends in -d add the -t in the second and third person singular.
rijden = to drive
ik rijd/rij (the d may be written but it is not pronounced)
jij rijdt
u rijdt
hij/zij/het rijdt
wij rijden
jullie rijden
zij rijden
houden = to hold
ik houd/hou
jij houdt
u houdt
hij/zij/het houdt
wij houden
jullie houden
zij houden
The t of the second person singular is dropped when you ask a question:
rijd jij?
houd jij?
In Dutch, there are two words to say ‘this’ and two words to say ‘that’.
When ‘this’ is used before a common noun, ‘deze‘ is used. Example: deze man *this man
When ‘this’ is used before a neuter noun, ‘dit‘ is used. Example: dit huis *this house
When ‘these’ is used, ‘deze‘ is used, regardless of whether the noun is a common noun or a neuter noun. Example: deze mannen *these men. deze huizen *these houses.
When ‘that’ is used before a common noun, ‘die‘ is used. Example: die man. *that man
When ‘that’ is used before a neuter noun, ‘dat‘ is used. *dat huis. *that house
When ‘those’ is used, it doesn’t matter whether the noun is a neuter noun or a common noun.*die mannen. *those people. *die huizen. *those houses.
I’ll give ya some exercises to do on this topic.
Translate these sentence into English:
1) Dit is Jan
2) Dat is klein
3) Deze boot is klein
4) Die schoenen
In Dutch there is only one indefinite article. This article is een. It doesn’t matter whether the noun is a de noun or a het noun. For example, ‘a woman’ is een vrouw, (de noun) and ‘a house’ is een huis (het noun). It will both be een no matter what. Also, in English, we distinguish a difference between ‘a’ and ‘an’. In Dutch there is no difference between ‘a’ or ‘an’. There is obviously no plural because whenever you use ‘a’ you are referring to a single object.
In Dutch, you don’t use indefinite articles when you’re stating your profession. For example, in English, you’d say, He is a doctor. In Dutch, you’d say, Hij is dokter, without the indefinite article.
For the most part English and Dutch use the indefinite articles in the same way.
In Dutch, there is also a special negative of een. This form is called geen. The sentence ‘This is not a car’ will be ‘dit is geen auto’ in Dutch. This sentence in the affirmative would be, dis is een auto, or this is a car.
Remember that één is different from een. For example ‘one elephant’ in Dutch is één olifant. In English één olifant would not be ‘an elephant’ but one elephant.
Have you ever tried Dutch kaas? Here are some famous brands of Dutch cheese.
Goudse kaas : or Gouda cheese, is a yellow colored cheese sold not just in the Netherlands, but all over the world. It was named after the Gouda, a stad in the south of the Netherlands. This cheese has a distinctive sweet flavor. It is semi-hard and can be slightly crunchy. The cheese can be creamy in taste with a caramel like taste. I like pairing this cheese with a light fruity wine with crackers. I like my Gouda mild, but you can get a stronger version, depending on how long it’s been aged.
Leidse kaas : or Leyden cheese. It’s named after a city called Leiden. This type of cheese has a variety of spices in it, like cloves (kruidnagel), cumin seeds (komijn) and caraway (karwij). (Caraway is a plant used in Dutch soups (soep), stews and cheeses.) It can be spicy, dry, salty, and tangy. I like this cheese with some white wine. It’s also delicious as a party platter served with some salami and crackers.
Edammer : Edam is from the Dutch town of Edam. Edam cheese is a popular export because it does not spoil as easily as the Leyden or Gouda cheese. It’s also a good cheese for those on a diet. It has less fat than both the Leyden and Gouda cheese. In addition, it’s a great choice of a cheese for those who don’t like smelly cheeses. This cheese is great with fruits like pears and melons.
With that I leave you with the phrase, Smakelijk eten!
