Learning Dutch? Good choice! Dutch is one of the languages closest to English. Even if they’re pretty close, here are some typical mistakes foreigners make while learning the language.
In Dutch, ‘ik wil‘ means I want. Yes, that’s confusing. Especially since Dutch uses ‘ik ga’ or ‘ik zal’ for the future tense.
If you want to put a sentence in the negative, you’ll soon learn about niet and geen. So when do you use niet, and when geen? Simple: if you can replace the not by no, it’s geen. As in:
-He doesn’t have a phone (can be ‘he has no phone’, so geen).
When you’re using the comparative in English, you’re sometimes forced to use the word more. As in: more dangerous. However, in Dutch, you’ll always add -er.
-Gevaarlijker ( = more dangerous)
Talking about g’s: the pronunciation of the G is so difficult, there’s even a wikihow page dedicated to it!
Since we’re reviewing pronunciation, the ij, the uu, the eu and many other diphtongs can be tough to pronounce too.
Another tricky one is the translation of who. In a question, it’s wie. But if you use it as a replacement of ‘that’, it’s die.
-De man, die studeert, is mijn vader. ( = the man, who studies, is my father)
How do you say ‘to like‘ in Dutch? Whenever my students ask the question, I prepare for a sigh. Yes, you can use to love, which is less strong in Dutch. But it’s better to use ‘graag’, which you add to a verb.
-Ik werk graag. ( = I like to work)
-Hij heeft graag kinderen. ( = he likes kids)
The order of the different parts of a sentence is… well. Dutch. Subsentences have their own way of putting words and using words as while or because complicates matters. Here’s one little rule: when starting with time or place, use inversion.
-Hier werk ik. ( = here I work)
-Soms werk ik. ( = sometimes I work)
Another disturbance in the order of the sentence: separable verbs. Some verbs have a part that occasionally splits with the main part. Fun, huh? Oh yes, if you forget that little part, it can change the whole meaning of the sentence.
-Ik werk af. ( = I finish)
-Ik werk. ( = I work)
Which article do you use, de or het? There are some rules: persons use de and diminutives use het. But there are so many exceptions. Make sure to use the right article for words you use most.
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