How Dutch works: your starting point: A2 Dutch grammar lesson
This course builds your Dutch from the ground up: the sounds, the words, and the way sentences fit together. You don't need any grammar background. Work through the lessons in order. Each one adds a small, usable piece.
Dutch uses the same 26 letters as English. A few sounds still surprise newcomers. Knowing them early makes reading and listening easier.
Sounds worth knowing
| Letters | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| g and ch | Throaty, made in the back of the mouth (like softly clearing your throat) | goedemorgen, acht, lachen |
| ij and ei | Same sound, close to the English word "eye" | mij, trein, klein |
| ui | No English match; rounded, lips pushed forward | huis, ui, buiten |
| oe | Like the "oo" in "food" | boek, goed, moe |
| eu | Rounded, made with the lips | neus, deur, kleur |
Don't worry about getting these perfect on day one. Recognising them lets a written word and its spoken sound start to line up.
How a Dutch sentence is built
A normal Dutch sentence needs the same two things an English one does.
| Part | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| subject (onderwerp) | Who or what the sentence is about | ik, jij, de man, mijn buurvrouw |
| verb (werkwoord) | The action or state | woon, werkt, is, heeft |
Put them together and you've got a real sentence:
- Ik woon in Utrecht. (I live in Utrecht.)
- De trein is laat. (The train is late.)
A few words on their own, like In Utrecht or Morgen naar school, aren't sentences yet. They're missing a subject, a verb, or both.
In writing, every sentence starts with a capital letter. It ends with a period (.) or a question mark (?).
One rule to keep in your pocket
In a Dutch main sentence, the conjugated verb sits in second position. You'll meet this rule properly in a later lesson, but start noticing it now.
When the sentence opens with the subject, it feels easy:
- Ik ga morgen naar mijn werk. (I go to my work tomorrow.) The verb ga comes straight after ik, in second place.
Now push morgen (tomorrow) to the front. English keeps saying "Tomorrow I go", so plenty of learners write Morgen ik ga naar mijn werk. Dutch won't allow it. The verb has to stay second, so ik and ga trade places.
- Wrong: Morgen ik ga naar mijn werk.
- Right: Morgen ga ik naar mijn werk.
That's the whole foundation: clear sounds, a subject and a verb in every sentence, and the verb in second place. Everything after this builds on it.
Practice questions
Welke zin is een complete Nederlandse zin?
Wat mist er in 'Morgen naar school.'?
Welke twee letters klinken samen ongeveer als het Engelse woord 'eye'?
Maak de zin af met het juiste woord: '___ woon in Amsterdam.'