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The Simple Past of Dutch 'to Be' and 'to Have' | |
Adjectives and Adverbs |
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Walkabout: The House | |
'Erg' | |
Metric and Imperial: Length (2) | |
The Education System in Holland |
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The separation of Church and State in the West is in part based on this very sensible Bible text. (Also in Mark 12:13-17 and Luke 20:20-26.)
Matthew 22:15-21 'Render Unto Caesar' | |
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The Taxes to The Emperor | De Belasting aan De Keizer 2 |
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. | Daarop gingen de farizeeën heen, en beraadslaagden, hoe ze hem in zijn eigen woorden zouden verstrikken. |
And they sent him their disciples with the Herodians, saying "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do you care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men." | Ze zonden hun leerlingen met de aanhangers van Herodes op Hem af met de vraag: Meester, we weten dat Gij oprecht zijt, de weg van God naar waarheid leert, en niemand naar de ogen ziet, want Gij kent geen aanzien des persoons. |
"Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" | Zeg ons dus: wat dunkt U; is het geoorloofd de keizer belasting te betalen, of niet? |
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test me, you hypocrites?" | Jezus kende hun boosheid, en sprak, Huichelaars, wat stelt gij Mij op de proef? |
"Show me the tax money." So they brought him a denarius. | Laat mij de cijnspenning zien. Ze hielden hem een tienling voor. |
And he said to them: "Whose image and inscription is this?" | Jezus zeide hun: Wiens beeld en randschrift is dit? |
They said to him: "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" | Ze zeiden: Van de keizer. Hij sprak tot hen: Geeft dan de keizer, wat de keizer toekomt; en geeft aan God, wat God toekomt. |
When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him and went their way. | Toen ze dit hoorden, waren ze verwonderd; ze lieten
Hem met rust, en gingen heen.
more readings from the Bible |
Note At the time of the Bible translations, Dutch boosheid and het boze still meant 'evil, wickedness,' while nowadays it means 'anger.'
Note that the A in the past tense of zijn is short in the singular, but long in the plural: ik was / wij waren . You'll see that often in the past tense of strong verbs with A.
<< previous - verbs central - next >>
Adjectives and Adverbs, Word Order | |
Spelling Changes | |
Systematic Examples | |
Exceptions | |
As Nouns |
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After studying the Adjectives and Adverbs on this page, test your understanding in the Flashcards Exercise (first of four) and the Listening Test
You have seen adjectives with nouns several times already in these lessons. Adjectives are almost always in front of, directly before the nouns they modify.
adjective | noun |
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noun | zijn - ('to be') is / was / zijn / waren - ('is / was / are / were') |
adverb |
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de sinaasappels zijn oranje - de oranje sinaasappels |
de huid is roze - de roze huid |
Amerikaanse schoffel 'American (scuffle) hoe' |
In die tijd hadden we allemaal lang haar. At the time, all of us had long hair |
(het) gebroken zwaard 2 ('broken sword') |
In slow speech, words break up in syllables: let-ter-gre-pen 2 (lettergrepen singular: (de) lettergreep ) In Dutch, syllables are organized around vowels.
Adding the E's for adjectives does not further change the pronunciation of the root word much, but it adds a syllable. If there was only one consonant at the end of the root word, there may be a problem, because that consonant will go to the new syllable of the E-ending, leaving a previously 'closed' syllable 'open,' but the length of the previously last vowel of the root word is not going to change.
slap |
laf 2 |
vol |
los |
wit 2 |
slappe (slap-pe) |
laffe (laf-fe) 2 |
volle (vol-le) 2 |
losse (los-se) |
witte (wit-te) |
laag 2 |
hoog |
leeg |
groot 2 |
heel 2 |
lage (la-ge) |
hoge (ho-ge) |
lege (le-ge) 2 |
grote (gro-te) 2 |
hele (he-le) |
mager |
wankel 2 |
heilig |
duidelijk |
redelijk 2 |
magere (ma-ge-re) 2 |
wankele (wan-ke-le) 2 |
heilige (hei-li-ge) |
duidelijke (dui-de-lij-ke) |
redelijke (re-de-lij-ke) |
diep 2 |
klein 2 |
rijk |
flauw |
goed 2 |
diepe (die-pe) |
kleine (klei-ne) |
rijke (rij-ke) |
flauwe (flau-we) |
goede (goe-de) |
lang 2 |
kort 2 3 4 |
vast |
hard |
zacht |
lange (lan-ge) |
korte (kor-te) 2 |
vaste (vas-te) 2 |
harde (har-de) 2 |
zachte (zach-te) 2 |
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Vlaams |
meest |
naakt 2 |
gevreesd 2 |
geslaagd 2 |
Vlaamse (Vlaam-se) 2 |
meeste (mees-te) |
naakte (naak-te) |
gevreesde (ge-vrees-de) 2 |
geslaagde (ge-slaag-de) |
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De Nederlandse vlag is rood - wit - blauw 2 3 |
Do notice the exceptional EE (Dutch IE) pronunciation of IJ in
bijzonder / bijzondere
('special.')
You may have noticed that above I say langzaam / langzame 2 ('slow') with S instead of Z. When I say it with a clear Z it doesn't sound right: langzaam / langzame
de Nederlandse taal
2
the Dutch language
vrouwelijk
/ vrouwelijke
('female, feminine, womanly')
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After studying the Adjectives and Adverbs, test your understanding in the Flashcards Exercise - (old version) and the Listening Test
Major Exceptions to Phonetic Spelling: Page 1 - Page 2
Hear for
Yourself, Hear the Dutch Letters in Hundreds of Words:
AU/OU
CH
E
EI/IJ
EU
F
G
H
L
OE
SCH
U
UI
W
X
Y
iets moois 2 3 | Something beautiful, a beautiful thing |
iets kleins 2 | Something small, a small thing, a little thing |
niks nieuws 2 3 | nothing new |
Heb je niks beters te doen? 2 3 | [Have you nothing better to do?] - Don't you have something better to do? |
Ik heb wel wat beters te doen 2 3 | I really have something better to do (I don't have time for the other thing) |
Vertel eens wat leuks 2 | Tell us something amusing |
Heb je wat leuks gedaan in het weekend? | Did you do something nice in the weekend? |
Heeft U iets vegetarisch? | Would you have something vegetarian? |
Wil je koffie of thee of iets fris? 2 3 | Would you like coffee or tea or ["something cold"] a soda or fruit juice? |
't Betekent heel iets anders 2 | It means something completely different |
Ik ben met iets anders bezig 2 3 | I'm busy with (working on, occupied with) something else |
't Heeft iets geheimzinnigs 2 | [It has something mysterious] There is something mysterious to it, it is a bit mysterious |
Er is iets mis 2 3 | There is something wrong |
Misschien is het iets onschuldigs | Maybe it's something [innocent] harmless |
Ik heb zo'n zin in iets lekkers 2 | I [have a great desire for] would really like someting tasty (usually sweet) now |
Er is iets heel ergs gebeurd 2 3 4 | Something [very] really bad happened |
I thought that 'het nieuws' 2 'the news' and alles 2 'everything, all' could also be adjectives turned nouns, but my Van Dale dictionary says they're old possessive forms. (English 'the news' is from a French plural)
| Heb je het nieuws gehoord? 2 3 | Have you heard the news? |
See also:
'niets' and 'niks'
and 'wat' and
'iets'
- and Verbs as Nouns and Adjectives
<< previous - word order central - next >>
(de) deur 2 |
(de) drempel |
(het) kleed |
(het) kastje |
(de) tafel |
(de) stoel |
(de) eettafel |
(het) tafeltje 2 |
(de) krukjes |
(de) luie stoel |
(de) luie stoel |
(de) bank |
(de) bloemen 2 |
(de) plant |
(de) kaars |
(de) lamp |
(de) lamp |
(de) gloeilampen |
(het) lichtknopje |
(het) lichtknopje |
(de) schakelaar |
(het) stopcontact 2 |
(de) stekkers |
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Thank you Justin Hodges for suggesting the walkabout |
Ze waren erg arm. | 2 | They were very poor. |
Hij is erg blij. | He is very glad. | |
Ik vind het heel erg. | I think it's really bad, I'm upset over it. | |
Ik hoop dat je het niet erg vindt. | I hope you don't [think it's bad] mind. | |
See also: Disambiguation: 'Erg' and Common Problems |
100 centimeters = 1 meter = 39.37 inches = 3.281 feet |
1 foot = 0.3048 meters = 30.48 centimeter | 1 meter = 3.281 feet |
1 yard = 0.9144 meter | 1 meter = 1.093 yard | 1 yard = 3 feet = 36 inches |
1 mile = 1.60934 kilometer | 1 kilometer = 0.62137 miles | 1 kilometer = 1000 meters | ||||
1 mile = 5280 feet = 1760 yards | ||||||
Please drive carefully | more dimensions |
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(de) doorsnede 2 ['cross-cut, cut-through'] - diameter - also: average
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(de) millimeter
1mm = 1/1000 m |
(de) centimeter
1cm = 1/100 m |
((de) decimeter
)
(1dm = 1/10 m) |
(de) meter
m |
(de) kilometer
1km=1000m |
In Dutch, the units of measure are rarely used in the plural (except in time) - 1 meter, 2 meter 2
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(het) examen 2 3 'exam' at the end of a school or a training
'Tests' at school:
(de) repetitie
2
elementary school and secondary school
(het) proefwerk
2
3
elementary school and secondary school
(het) tentamen
2
3
at college and university level
spijbelen
2
('play truant, play hooky' - being absent from school without a good reason
(de) spijbelaar
2
3
('truant')
Hij zit in de tweede klas
2
'He's in second grade'
(Het) cijfer
'mark, grade' (on an exam or test - in Holland: 1-10
->>)
(de/het) voldoende
2
3
['sufficient'] - 'passing grade' -
(de/het) onvoldoende
2
3
['insufficient'] - 'failing grade'
The secondary school system in Holland is highly stratified. Students
go to a wide variety of schools, from vocational training
to humanities and sciences
education preparing for university, and
several levels in between. In the
last grade of elementary school all children take a nationwide test
and in consultations between parents and teachers a school type is
chosen.
Often the first grade of a secondary school is a
(de) brugklas
('bridging class') that still allows choosing from
various levels for the next grade.
Starting in the Middle Ages, children of the rich and noble were
educated at 'Latin Schools,' originally run by the clergy; but in the Nineteenth
Century, many governments in the West worked towards improving the
education of a larger part of the population.
The factories of the Industrial Revolution needed more skilled workers and
managers, and the equality ideals of the French Revolution may have
played a part.
1. Elementary schools for all children were introduced
in the early Nineteenth Century.
2. In the Middle Ages and later, the guilds provided vocational
training; but in the 19th Century, the government set up a school type
teaching practical jobs like carpentry, at first called
(de) ambachtsschool
((het) ambacht
is now an old-fashioned word for trade, handicraft)
and later called
(de) LTS - Lagere Technische School
('lower technical school.')
Girls would go to
(de) huishoudschool
('homemaking school' -
het huishouden
is 'housekeeping.')
3. In the 1860s a high-level secondary school type
open to all qualifying students was created, called
(de) HBS - Hogere Burgerschool
("higher citizens' school" - higher school, not
higher citizens.)
The Latin school lived on as
(het) Gymnasium
- its curriculum became similar to the
HBS, just adding Latin and Greek.
For the future wives of the leading citizens there was
(de) MMS - Middelbare Meisjesschool
("intermediate girls' school") - originally a kind of
finishing school. This school type no longer exists.
In the higher grades of the HBS students would choose between a
commerce/languages stream, and a math and sciences stream. Passing the
HBS or Gymnasium final exam
((het) eindexamen
)
allowed further study at the University.
In time, restrictions on girls to attend
HBS and Gymnasium were lifted.
Between Trades Education and HBS/Gymnasium there was
(de) ULO - Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs
and the more extensive
MULO - Middelbaar Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs
In the 1960s and 70s the Dutch secondary education was streamlined, making transfer between school types easier. Because of its large scope the law describing the changes was called de Mammoetwet Also, in the old system there were just a few different streams to choose from, but now students can put together their personal package of subjects to study. Trades education became (het) voorbereidend beroepsonderwijs ((het) beroepsonderwijs ) - the Gymnasium kept its name, but the HBS became (het) Atheneum and the levels in between are now called MAVO - Middelbaar Algemeen Vormend Onderwijs ('intermediate general education') and HAVO - Hoger Algemeen Vormend Onderwijs ('higher general education.')
After secondary school,
there is again a wide variety of further
education, from University to
(het) beroepsonderwijs
providing practical training, and many schools in between.
In Holland (like in most of Europe) College and Graduate School were
integrated, there were no independent colleges. Very
few students would leave university with only a Bachelor's degree
(kandidaats
)
- almost all students graduated with a Master's degree
(doctoraal
)
- but maybe it's no longer like that.
Alles blijft veranderen
2
('everything keeps changing.')
Ik kan het niet meer bijhouden
2
('I can't keep up with it.')
It looks like the European Union has decided on an American-style
University system.
kweekschool | old-fashioned name for 'teaching academy' (training elementary school teachers) |
pedagogische academie | modern name for 'teaching academy' |
kunstacademie | art school |
HTS Hogere Technische School | 'Higher Technical School' |
(de) universiteit | university |
(het) college | university class - also: a board, a group of important people |
college lopen | to attend classes at a university |
college geven 2 | to teach a class at a university |
(de) student | student (at a university) |
(de) doctorandus (drs.) | person with a general Master's degree |
(de) ingenieur (ir.) | person with an engineering Master's degree |
(de) meester in de rechten (mr.) | person with a Law school degree ->> |
(de) doctor (dr.) | person with a PhD |
(de) dokter | medical doctor |
(het) kandidaats | 'Bachelor's degree' |
(het) doctoraal | 'Master's degree' |
(de) promotie | PhD degree defense & ceremony |
(het) proefschrift 2 | PhD thesis |
(de) professor | professor |
The Dutch verb leren means both 'to teach' and 'to learn.' Which one is ususally clear from the context. The 'to teach' meaning is often combined with a personal pronoun or a name. | ||||||||||||
leren to teach // to learn |
- | ik leer I'm learning |
- | wij leren we're learning |
- | ik leerde I learned |
- | wij leerden we learned |
- | ik heb geleerd I have learned |
2 |
Leer de regels
('learn the rules')
Leer me de regels
('teach me the rules')
Ik heb veel geleerd
2
3
I have learned [much] many things
Ik heb jullie veel geleerd
2
I have taught you guys [much] many things
Hij leerde fietsen in Nederland
2
3
He learned to ride a bike in Holland
Wat hebben we ervan geleerd?
2
What have we learned from it?
What did it teach us?
Jullie moeten nog veel leren
2
3
You guys still have a lot to learn
Ik heb 't van jou geleerd
2
[I've learned it from you] -
You taught it to me
leren van fouten
2
3
learning from mistakes
de tijd zal 't leren
2
time will [teach] tell
Ik heb een paar jaar pianoles gehad
I have had piano lessons
for a [couple of] few years.
Maar ik had beter
gitaar kunnen leren spelen
But learning to play the guitar
would have [been better] made more sense.
(de) geleerde
2
3
'learned' person, scholar, scientist (old-fashioned)
(het) geleerde
2
3
the material, knowledge and skill that was learned
- more leren
- 2
For 'to teach' you can also say les geven
((de) les
/
lessen
2 'lesson/lessons' -
geven
2 'to give'
>>)
or (as I said above)
college geven
2 'to teach
classes at a university.'
Ik geef Nederlands
('I am a teacher of Dutch')
ik leer jullie Nederlands
2
('I'm teaching you Dutch.')
A more formal word for 'to teach' is onderwijzen
2
3
- a strong verb:
onderwijzen to teach |
- | onderwees taught |
- | onderwezen taught |
2 |
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