Category: Dutch

Posted on

To like in Dutch: graag

Learn the Dutch language from Belgium, also called Flemish

How do you say ‘I like to dance’ in Dutch? If you ask this question as a beginner,  your teacher will probably say it’s too soon. Why? Because ‘to like’ isn’t as easy in Dutch as it is in English.

No verb, no like

There is no specific verb for ‘to like’ in Dutch. At best, you can use ‘houden van.’ So, the translation would be:

  • Ik hou van dansen. (I like/love to dance)

But the literal translation is: I love to dance. Yes, houden van is to love. So it can also mean to like a lot, just as well as to love. To a loved one, you’d say:

  • Ik hou van jou. (I love you)

Graag: no verb

Dutch persons usually use ‘graag’ as a way to express they like something. Graag is no verb but it always stands with a verb. And to be more precise, usually just after the verb.

  • Ik dans graag. (I like to dance)

So if you’d like to make the sentence longer, you’ll add the words after graag:

  • Ik dans graag salsa met mijn vrienden. (I like to dance salsa with my friends)

If there is no verb, you use ‘hebben’, to have, with graag.

  • Ik heb graag kinderen. (I like kids)

Other uses of graag

Water? Graag!

Graag is also used for other purposes, which can be confusing. But here’s the other uses:

  1. Yes in a polite way.
  2. Politeness. Used in combination with zouden (would) or willen (want), or both zouden and willen.
  • Water, meneer? (water, mister)
  • Graag (yes, with pleasure)
  • En wat wil u drinken? (and what do you want to drink)
  • Ik zou graag een glas cola willen, alstublieft (I’d like a glass of cola, please)

Exercises

Translate (with graag):

  1. He likes to eat.
  2. I like dancing in the dark.
  3. Do we like to go to the cinema?
  4. They like ice cream.

Put the words in the right order:

  1. graag – drinkt – water – ze .
  2. weer – in – van – houden -zij – België – het .
  3. zou – krijgen – koffie – graag – je – tas – een .

Solutions

  1. Hij eet graag.
  2. Ik dans graag in het donker.
  3. Gaan we graag naar de cinema?
  4. Zij hebben graag ijsjes.

 

  1. Ze drinkt graag water.
  2. Zij houden van het weer in België.
  3. Je zou graag een tas koffie krijgen.

Improve your Dutch by taking some private classes…

Posted on

All in Dutch: al, alle, alles, allen, allemaal

Learn the Dutch language from Belgium, also called Flemish

So when an English-speaking student is learning the Dutch translation for ‘all’, all hell breaks loose. How do you explain to a student there are five (!) ways to translate ‘all’?

Let’s see them all:

  1. Is that all?
  2. All are here. (as in people)
  3. All people are here.
  4. All the people are here.
  5. We are all here.

All as in everything

If you can replace the ‘all’ by everything, you use ‘alles’.

  • Is dat alles? (Is that all)

All as in everyone

If you can replace the ‘all’ by everyone, you use ‘allen.’ You can also use iedereen.

  • Allen zijn hier. (all are here)

All plus nouns

When you’re using all plus a noun, you use ‘alle.’ There’s nothing standing between de ‘all’ and the noun.

  • Alle mensen zijn hier. (all people are here)

All plus article plus nouns

If there’s an article or a pronoun (this, that) in between the all and the nouns, it’s ‘al.’

  • Al de mensen zijn hier. (all the people are here)
All or everything?

All separated from the noun

When all stands behind the noun, use ‘allemaal’. Allen can also be used in case of people.

  • We zijn allemaal hier.  (we are all here)

Exercises

(words: de studenten, de leraars, werken met, naar België, was, het)

  1. All students go to Belgium.
  2. The students all go to Belgium.
  3. All go to Belgium.
  4. All teachers work with all the students.
  5. Was it all, students?

Solutions

  1. Alle studenten gaan naar België.
  2. De studenten gaan allemaal naar België.
  3. Allen gaan naar België.
  4. Alle leraars werken met al de studenten.
  5. Was het alles, studenten?
Posted on

Free Dutch course online

Interested in learning the Dutch language? Here’s your way to do it for free.

In over 40 lectures, you’ll learn the basic grammar and over 300 Dutch words!

Start with the introduction to the course so you can start learning Dutch in 7 different sections:

  • Section 1: how to introduce yourself
  • Section 2: how to talk about jobs, countries and names
  • Section 3: the Dutch verbs
  • Section 4: the possessive, the family and the negative
  • Section 5: how to ask questions, how to use diminutive and when to write capitals
  • Section 6: the numbers and pronouns
  • Section 7: extra resources

    Get my book!

Enjoy the course and let me know what you liked and liked less!

Here’s the full description of the course:

Learn Dutch – this is the place to start learning Flemish online!

This is your opportunity! In this course, we start from zero. Indeed, zero. No previous knowledge needed. No expensive study books. We build on our way to learn Dutch, step by step. Learn at your own pace to translate Dutch, you can review the videos and redo the exercises any time, as much as you want! Learn Dutch online!
What can you expect?
Learning Dutch is difficult. Yes. So no unnecessary, 10-minute long Dutch grammar lessons with all the rules. Only what you need to know. Tips where you can find more Dutch language. Over 300 Dutch words to use in your everyday life. An interactive quiz at the end of each section, also about the Dutch vocabulary. Culture to understand Dutch better.
For who is this course?
You don’t understand Dutch, or barely. And you want to know how to speak Dutch. And it’s taught for you. Ready to start?
The level is Dutch A1 to Dutch A2.

Posted on

Busy in Dutch: druk or bezig

Learn the Dutch language from Belgium, also called Flemish

During one of my online Dutch lessons, a student said this:

  • Het was een bezige week (= it was a busy week).

It’s a literal translation from English into Dutch. Due to the close relationship between the two languages, it’s a good tactic. However, in this case, it isn’t.

So I corrected my student:

  • Het was een drukke week.

But I couldn’t tell why. Yes, language teachers do not know everything. So I did some research and found interesting forum conversations on an amazing website. And here’s how it is:

Bezige bij or drukke bij?

Bezig is used for living things doing an activity. The result is that the living thing can’t do something else:

  • Jan, kan je me helpen? (= Jan, can you help me?)
  • Nee, ik ben bezig. (= No, I’m busy.)

So a week can’t be ‘bezig’. Because it’s not a living thing. Also, it’s not doing an activity. And that is why it’s a drukke week. Let’s do some exercises:

Fill in: druk/bezig (solution below)

  • Ben je met de afwas … ?
  • Het plein is … .
  • Jan is altijd zo’n … mens.
  • Op het werk is het altijd … .
  • Hij is … . Dus vraag het aan Sara.

(afwas = dishes, zo’n = such a)

Mind as well that you can use ‘druk bezig‘ as in very busy. Again, this is only for living things doing an activity.

Druk can also mean pressure. For example luchtdruk (= air pressure) and in stressful situations. And ‘bezet‘ means occupied. As in what you have to reply when you’re in the bathroom.

Fun fact: a busy bee is an expression also used in Dutch: een bezige bij. It’s a living thing and doing an activity.

Solutions:

Bezig – druk – drukke – druk – bezig.

 

Posted on

Niet or geen? Differences between Dutch not’s and no’s

As you’re learning your first Dutch words, you’ll come across an important topic: to say a sentence in the negative. For example: I don’t live in Germany:

  • Ik woon niet in Duitsland.

So, not is niet, right? Yes. And no. Because as you’re translating the next sentence: ‘I am not a German’, you won’t see a niet in:

  • Ik ben geen Duitser.

But you do see a geen appearing. So when do you use geen, and when niet? Well, it’s simple: if you can replace the not in English by a no, it’s geen. In the other cases, it’s niet. Let’s see our two examples:

  • I don’t live in Germany. I do no live in Germany = wrong, so it’s… Ik woon niet in Duitsland.
  • I am not a German. I am no German = right, so it’s… Ik ben geen Duitser.

That’s it. Also mind that a simple ‘no’ as in not a yes is translated as nee or neen.

Check out more Dutch here!