Dutch Grammar
Dutch Grammar
In Dutch, you can ask questions in two main ways: start with a verb, or start with a question word. In both patterns you get inversion, so the verb comes before the subject (just like in Lesson 5).
In yes/no questions, the conjugated verb comes first. Because the subject comes after the verb, this is inversion. They are called "closed questions" because the answer is usually ja (yes) or nee (no).
Ga jij vanavond naar de film? - Are you going to the movies tonight?In open questions, you start with a question word (similar to English: who, what, where, when...). That question word takes position 1, the verb stays in position 2, and the subject comes in position 3.
| Dutch | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wie | Who | Wie is dat? Wie is dat? - Who is that? |
| Wat | What | Wat wil jij drinken? Wat wil jij drinken? - What do you want to drink? |
| Waar | Where | Waar woon jij? Waar woon jij? - Where do you live? |
| Wanneer | When | Wanneer ga je op vakantie? Wanneer ga je op vakantie? - When are you going on vacation? |
| Waarom | Why | Waarom leer je Nederlands? Waarom leer je Nederlands? - Why are you learning Dutch? |
| Hoe | How | Hoe gaat het? Hoe gaat het? - How are you? |
| Hoeveel | How much / many | Hoeveel kost het? Hoeveel kost het? - How much does it cost? |
| Hoe laat | What time | Hoe laat begint de film? Hoe laat begint de film? - What time does the movie start? |
English needs a helper word to turn a statement into a question: "you go" has no natural question form, so English borrows "do" and asks "Do you go?" Dutch never borrows a helper word — it just swaps two words that are already there. Take Ga jij vanavond naar de film? above: the verb jumps in front of the subject jij, and nothing else in the sentence changes. Nothing is added, nothing is translated — the verb that was already there simply moves to the front.
Question words push this one step further: the question word takes position 1, the verb slides into position 2, and the subject follows in position 3 — exactly like Waar woon jij? above. The twist worth memorising is what happens to the verb when the subject is jij: it loses its final -t. Kom jij? is correct Dutch; a statement left as "Jij komt?" is not, because the verb never moved and the -t never dropped. Swap the verb and subject first, then shave the -t whenever jij is the subject — that single habit fixes most beginner question mistakes.
English barely reorders words for questions — it leans on the helper word "do" instead of moving the verb — so it is tempting to leave the Dutch subject and verb in statement order and just add a question mark. Check yourself against these four slips.
✗ Jij komt?
✓ Kom jij?
A yes/no question puts the verb first, and the -t drops after jij.
✗ Waar jij woont?
✓ Waar woon jij?
After a question word the verb comes before the subject, and the -t drops with jij.
✗ Wat jij wilt?
✓ Wat wil jij?
Same inversion rule after wat: question word, then verb, then jij — never subject before verb.
✗ Kom hij?
✓ Komt hij?
Only jij drops the -t; hij/zij/het keep it — compare Kom jij? with Komt hij?
Choose one activity below. Only one quiz is shown at a time, and you can switch whenever you want.
Use this order: Verb - Subject - Time - Other.
Use this order: Question Word - Verb - Subject - Rest.