So, some examples:
These books lie on this table - Deze boeken liggen op deze tafel.
That man writes with those pencils - Die man schrijft met die pennen.
This woman sleeps in that bed - Deze vrouw slaapt in dat bed.
Or on their own as an object (without referred noun):
This is mine - Dit is van mij.
These are yours - Deze zijn van jou.
Or on their own as a subject:
Ik give these to you - Ik geef deze aan jou.
We ate this - We aten dit.
Or on their own as an object (with referred noun):
Is this your book? - Is dit jouw boek?
Are those your books? - Zijn dat jouw boeken?
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We use the same Dutch verb for {will/shall} (they've basically the same meaning
in English too). The Dutch verb is: "zullen",
it's very irregular, almost like the verb "kunnen". It's like:
ik zal, jij/u zal (or jij/u zult) (zal jij), hij/zij/het zal, wij zullen,
ik zou, wij zouden
There is no past perfect form.
It's an auxilary verb, so always used with the full form of another verb
(although it's also used in another meaning as a normal verb, more about
that later).
Examples:
I shall work tomorrow - Ik zal morgen werken.
Will you do it tonight? - Zal je het vanavond doen?
We would do it this morning - We zouden het vanmorgen doen.
When used as {should} it is used in conjunction with the {must} verb:
"moeten":
ik moet, jij/u/hij/zij/het moet, wij moeten,
ik moest, wij moesten, wij hebben gemoeten
Always the full verb is used in constructions like this:
We should do this - We zouden dit moeten doen.
But: We shall do this - We zullen dit doen.
Should I eat at the table? - Zou ik aan de tafel moeten eten?
But: Shall I eat at the table? - Zal ik aan de tafel eten?
These sentences can also be constructed with only the "moeten" verb:
We must do this - We moeten dit doen.
Must I eat at the table? - Moet ik aan de tafel eten?
Without the "moeten" verb it has more a meaning of {were supposed to}, as in:
We were supposed to do this - We zouden dit doen.
We were supposed to eat tonight - We zouden vanavond eten.
All in all a very complicated verb.
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The Dutch verb for {want} is: "willen",
it's not irregular (surprise!), but the past present tense is often
used in a gramaticly bad form (no surprise).
It's like:
ik wil, jij/u wilt, hij/zij/het wil, wij willen,
ik wilde, wij wilden, gewild
The bad past present form is (looking like the past perfect for "zullen" ("zouden")):
ik wou, wij wouden, gewild
Examples:
I want that dog - Ik wil die hond.
Did you want the red book? - Wilde (wou) u het rode boek?
We didn't want to do this - We wilden (wouden) dit niet doen.
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Conjunctions are used like in English. See the vocabulary for a list.
Examples:
If you will write it, I'll read it - Als jij het zal schrijven, zal ik het lezen.
I'll read it if you'll write it - Ik zal het lezen als jij het zal schrijven.
We do it because we must - Wij doen het omdat we (het) moeten.
| als | if (also some other usages) |
| bah | bah, pooh, pah |
| beloven | to promise [beloof, beloven, beloofde(n), beloofd] |
| da's | that is (short for "dat is") |
| dat | that, or: that, which |
| deze | these |
| die | those/that |
| dit | this |
| doordat | because, on account of |
| indien | if, in case ("als" is used more often, "indien" is more used in official documents) |
| jaar | year [het, jaren] |
| jong | young, or: young one, litter [het, jongen] |
| jongen | boy, lad [de (m), jongens], or: "jongen, jongen!" dear, dear!, oh dear!, or: to bring forth young animals [jong, jongen, jongde(n), gejongd] |
| koken | to boil, or: to cook food [kook, koken, kookte(n), gekookt] |
| lekker | nice, delicious, good, fine, nicely |
| leuk | amusing, funny or: jolly, pleasant |
| meid | maid, girl [de (v), meiden] ({girl} on its own is usually "meisje") |
| meisje | girl, missy [het, meisjes] |
| moeten | to must/have to [moet, moet, moeten, moest(en), gemoeten] |
| nadat | after (we had seen it) |
| nieuw | new |
| omdat | because, as |
| opdat | that, in order that |
| oud | old |
| sjonge | same as "tjonge", even more slang |
| terwijl | while, whilst, as, or: meanwhile |
| tja | well! |
| tjonge | well!, have you ever! (slang for "jongen, jongen") |
| toen | when, as, or: then, at that time |
| vijand | enemy, foe [de (m), vijanden] |
| voordat | before (we had seen it) |
| vriend | friend, boy friend [de (m), vrienden] |
| vriendin | friend, girl friend, lady friend [de (v), vriendinnen] |
| wanneer | when |
| want | for (we must do so) (comjugation) |
| willen | to want [wil, wilt, willen, wilde(n) (bad: wou(den)), gewild] |
| worden | to become, going to be, to grow (old) [word, wordt, worden, werd(en), (zijn) geworden] |
| zo | so, like that, such, or: thus, like this, in this way, or: presently, and: many other usages |
| zullen | to shall/will [zal, jij/u zal (zult) (zal jij), hij zal, zullen, zou(den) (no past perfect)] |
| Als haar vriendin komt, zal zij het doen. | If her girl friend comes, she will do it. |
| We moeten het doen, want we hebben 't beloofd. | We must (have to) do it, for we have promised it. |
| Omdat zij het niet willen, moet ik 't doen. | Because they don't want to, I must (have to) do it. |
| Ik beloof je dat ik morgen zal koken. | I promise you that I'll cook tomorrow. |
| Zo zo! Waarom ben jij hier? | So so! Why are you here? |
| Jongen, jongen, wat is dat lekker! | Dear, dear, that is delicious! |
| Bah, da's vies! | Bah, that's filthy! |
| Tja, da's niet zo mooi. | Well, that's not so fine. |
| Ik word niet goed. | I'm becoming unwell. |
| Question | Answer |
| Conjugate: to be able (can). | ik kan, jij kan/kunt, hij/zij/het kan, u kunt, kunnen, kon, konden, gekund |
| Het meisje en de jongen lopen door het huis. | The girl and the boy are walking through the house. |
| Je mag eten wanneer ik het zeg. < | You may eat when I say so. |
| Listen. | 's Morgens loopt hij altijd naar de garage. - In the morning he always walks to the garage. |
| I don't wanna do that. | Ik wil dat niet doen. Or: Dat wil ik niet doen. |
| You (plural) shouldn't talk to those girls. | Jullie zouden niet moeten praten met die meisjes. |
| Your father is growing old. | Jouw vader wordt oud. |
| List: the months | januari, februari, maart, april, mei, juni, juli, augustus, september, oktober, november, december |