Lesson 6: Who was there on two?

We will handle the past present form of verbs.
The words for {who} and {what} will be given.
The much used word "er" will be used.
Some more sounds.
We'll count from 0 to 10.

Pronunciation
Grammar
Vocabulary
Sentences

Back to main

Pronunciation

Some consonants or diphthongs which are used rarely and mostly in words originating from foreign words:

SJ as in "sjaal" /SHow/
J as in "journaal" /CHopin/
TS as in "tsaar" /TSar/

Back to start

Grammar

The Dutch word for {who} is "wie", the word for {what} is "wat".
There used the same as "waar".
-
The Dutch word "er" is used for many things (probably because it is so small).
The most frequently usage is for {there}, as in {there are ...} - "Er zijn ..."
Also: {What's the matter?} - "Wat is er?"
And: {Here we are} - "We zijn er"
And some more, you'll see them as we use them in sentences.
-
The simple numbers are:

0 - "nul"
1 - "een"
(Also written as "e e n" or "één" to distinguish it from the article "een")
2 - "twee"
3 - "drie"
4 - "vier"
5 - "vijf"
6 - "zes"
7 - "zeven" (also pronounced as "zeven
8 - "acht"
9 - "negen"
10- "tien"

-
The regular form of the past present form is the STEM followed by "te(n)" or "de(n)". The "n" is used in the plural form. Whether a "t" or "d" is used depends on the last vowel of the STEM. Normally, the "d" is used, but if the STEM ends with one of "k", "f", "s", "ch", "p" the "t" is used. Remember that the 'transformed' "z" (to an "s") and "v" (to an "f") are not one of these. A mnemonic for the "t" or "d" rule is the word "fokschaap" {breeding sheep} in which all the "t" vowels are present (also the word "kofschip" is used).

So:

ik/jij/hij/zij/het STEMde - STEMte wij/jullie/zij STEMden - STEMten

The irregular verbs (which are of course the most used) don't have any real rules, except that they have the same form for all the singular forms, and the same form for all the plural forms.
Verbs we defined in previous lessons:

werken - ik/jij/hij/zij/het werkte - wij/jullie/zij werkten tellen - ,, telde - ,, telden kussen - ,, kuste - ,, kusten gokken - ,, gokte - ,, gokten zijn - ,, was - ,, waren hebben - ,, had - ,, hadden staan - ,, stond - ,, stonden geven - ,, gaf - ,, gaven kijken - ,, keek - ,, keken lopen - ,, liep - ,, liepen zien - ,, zag - ,, zagen zingen - ,, zong - ,, zongen zitten - ,, zat - ,, zaten

Back to start

Vocabulary

0, nul"	zero
1, een" (Also written as "e e n" or "één" to distinguish it from the article "een")	one
2, twee"	two
3, drie"	three
4, vier"	four
5, vijf"	five
6, zes"	six
7, zeven" (also pronounced as "zeven)	seven
8, acht"	eight
9, negen"	nine
10, tien"	ten
badkamer	bathroom (not the lavatory) [de, badkamers]
bank	couch (also bank (the money thingy)) [de, banken]
bed	bed [het, bedden]
drinken	to drink [drink, drinken, dronk, dronken]
eetkamer	dining room [de, eetkamers]
eten	to eat [eet, eet, eten, at, aten]
kamer	room [de, kamers]
kelder	cellar [de, (m), kelders]
keuken	kitchen [de, keukens]
liggen	to lie, be situated [lig, liggen, lag, lagen]
moeder	mother [de, (v), moeders]
onder	under, beneath, below
slaapkamer	bedroom [de slaapkamers]
slapen	to sleep [slaap, slapen, sliep, sliepen]
tellen	to count [tel, tellen, telde, telden]
vader	father [de, (m), vaders]
wat	what
wc (w.c.)	lavatory, w.c. [de, (m), wc's]
wie	who
zitkamer	sitting-room [de, zitkamers]
zolder	loft, attic [de, (m), zolders]

Back to start

Sentences

Ik ga naar bed.	I'm going to bed.
Moeder en vader hadden twee bedden in de slaapkamer.	Mother and father had two beds in the bedroom.
Wat is er?	What's the matter?
Er stond een bank in de zitkamer.	There was a couch in the sitting-room