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Lesson 9 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Verbs: The Simple Present - Useful Words and Phrases - Ordinal Numbers - The Large Water Projects

Nescio: Titaantjes 'The Mini-Titans' ... more of the finest Dutch writing (see Lesson 8 for more about the author Nescio) [The translation is quite liberal, just meant to give you a sense of what it is about.]

'The Mini-Titans'	Nescio: Titaantjes
We were just kids - but nice kids. If I may say so myself.	Jongens waren we - maar aardige jongens. Al zeg ik 't zelf.
We are much wiser now, it's pitiable how prudent we've become - except for Bavink, who's gone crazy.	We zijn nu veel wijzer, stakkerig wijs zijn we, behalve Bavink, die mal geworden is.
We had big plans to fix things.	Wat hebben we al niet willen opknappen. 2
We were going to show them how things should be done.	We zouden hun wel eens laten zien hoe 't moest. 2
We, that were the five of us. All other people were 'they.'	We, dat waren wij, met z'n vijven. Alle andere mensen waren 'ze'.
'They,' who didn't understand anything and didn't see anything.	'Ze', die niets snapten en niets zagen.
'What?' Bavink said, 'God? Are you talking about God? Their hot meal is their God.'	'Wat?' zei Bavink, 'God? Je praat over God? Hun warme eten is hun God.'
Except for a few 'good guys' we despised everyone.	Op enkele 'goeie kerels' na werd iedereen door ons veracht.
Very, very quietly I'll add 'and rightly' now, but I wouldn't want anybody to hear that.	Heel stilletjes zeg ik daar nu bij: 'En niet ten onrechte', maar dat mag niemand horen.
I am not a hero anymore. You never know how you'll need people.	Ik ben nu geen held meer. Je weet niet hoe je de mensen nog eens nodig kunt hebben. 2
And Hoyer also thinks you should not give offense. Of Bekker we don't see or hear anything anymore.	En Hoyer vindt ook dat je geen aanstoot moet geven. Van Bekker zie of hoor je niks meer. 2
And Kees Ploeger talks of those bad men that put him on the wrong track.	En Kees Ploeger praat van die rare kerels die 'm op de slechte weg brachten.
But those were the days of our foolishness, when we were God's elect, even God himself.	Maar toen waren we in de dagen van onze dwaasheid, de uitverkorenen Gods, ja God zelf.
Now we have become prudent, again except for Bavink, and we look at each other and smile, and I tell Hoyer: 'things have not improved.'	Verstandig zijn we nu, alweer behalve Bavink, en we kijken mekaar aan en glimlachen en ik zeg tegen Hoyer: 'we zijn er niet op vooruit gegaan.'
But Hoyer is too far gone already, he's joining the ranks of the Labor Party bigshots and signals doubt with his hands and shoulders.	Maar Hoyer is al te ver heen, hij begint bij de bonzen van de SDAP te horen, en maakt een gebaar van twijfel met z'n handen en z'n schouders. 2 3 continued

Verbs: the Simple Present (Imperfect)

kennen	to know (people)	weten	to know (things)	gaan	to go
ik ken jij kent hij kent wij kennen jullie kennen zij kennen U kent	(I know) (you know) (he knows) (we know) (you know) (they know) (you know)	ik weet jij weet hij weet wij weten jullie weten zij weten U weet	(I know) (you know) (he knows) (we know) (you know) (they know) (you know)	ik ga jij gaat hij gaat wij gaan jullie gaan zij gaan U gaat 2	(I go) (you go) (he goes) (we go) (you go) (they go) (you go)	(you - singular, informal) (you - plural, informal) (you - polite)

• A single vowel will be short
  - when followed by two or more consonants - (kennen )
  - or when followed by a single consonant that is the end of the word - (ken )
• A single vowel will be long
  - when it's the end of a word (except single E) - (ga 2)
  - or, in the middle of a word, when followed by one consonant and another vowel - (weten )
  Because, when breaking up the word in syllables, that single consonant will go to the second syllable, leaving an open ending to the first syllable that makes its vowel long - (we-ten)
• Also note that the final E in the -EN endings is voiceless: 'uh.'

The Verb Stem

Exceptions Regular I:
According to The Spelling Rules:
If removing the -en would result in a stem ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, then that single vowel will be doubled.
When removing the -en would result in a stem ending in a double consonant, then one of the consonants is dropped.
Examples:

Exceptions Regular II:
In Dutch, there always has to be a vowel after a V or a Z; otherwise, they change to F or S respectively. This feature is found in some adjectives and plurals too, and it is further explained in the page about plurals. >>
Examples:

Exceptions Irregular:
doen, zien - stem: doe, zie
gaan, staan - stem: ga, sta
zijn, hebben (to be, to have) - very irregular verbs we have seen and heard in the previous two lessons.
Find a few more irregular verbs at the end of this lessons's verbs section.

Present Tense Conjugation

Simple Present Model (I) ik STEM (you [singular]) jij STEM + t (he) hij STEM + t (we) wij INFINITIVE ( = STEM + en) (you [plural]) jullie INFINITIVE ( = STEM + en) (they) zij INFINITIVE ( = STEM + en) (you [polite]) U STEM + t

denken to think denken ik denk jij denkt hij denkt wij denken jullie denken zij denken U denkt (to think) (I think) (you think) (he thinks) (we think) (you think) (they think) (you think)

danken	to thank		stemmen	to vote or to tune		doen	to do
ik dank jij dankt hij dankt wij danken jullie danken zij danken U dankt	(I thank) (you thank) (he thanks) (we thank) (you thank) (they thank) (you thank)		ik stem jij stemt hij stemt wij stemmen jullie stemmen zij stemmen U stemt	(I vote) (you vote) (he votes) (we vote) (you vote) (they vote) (you vote)		ik doe jij doet hij doet wij doen jullie doen zij doen U doet	(I do) (you do) (he does) (we do) (you do) (they do) (you do)

• Third person singular alternates zij ('she') and het or 't ('it') will take the same endings as hij ('he')
  hij - zij - het - 't (he - she - it)
• In question mode and in some sentence structures the verb will precede the personal pronoun; in those cases, for second person singular (je, jij) the T will be dropped, but only in the present tense:
  dank jij? - stem jij? (are you thanking? - are you voting?)
  doe jij? 2 (are you doing? do you?)
• If the stem ends in a single vowel (not a double vowel or a diphthong) followed by a single consonant, that consonant will be doubled when the -EN ending is attached - to keep that single vowel of the stem 'short.'
  Look again at the 'stemmen' example. It is explained at length in Lesson 3 and again in Lesson 11
• Dutch words 'cannot' end in double (two of the same) consonants, so verb stems already ending in T will not add an extra T to second and third person singular
  zitten/zit: ik zit, jij zit, hij zit.
• gist means 'yeast,' but it can also be a verb form, both of gissen and gisten:
  gissen 2 ('to guess') - de mens gist 2 3 ('Man guesses')
  gisten 2 ('to ferment') - het gist 2 3 ('it is fermenting' - or figuratively, 'trouble is brewing')
• Verb stems ending in D will add that T, though: worden/word:
  ik word hij wordt (I become - he becomes)
  ik word 2 - hij wordt 2
  (different spelling, but no difference in pronunciation) - it's a problem for many Dutchmen too.

zitten	(to sit, be sitting, be seated)					vinden	(to find)
zitten ik zit jij zit hij zit wij zitten jullie zitten zij zitten U zit	(to sit) (I sit) (you sit) (he sits) (we sit) (you sit) (they sit) (you sit)		zit ik? zit je? zit hij? zitten we? zitten jullie? zitten ze? zit U?	(am I sitting down?) (are you sitting down?) (is he sitting down?) (are we sitting down?) (are you sitting down?) (are they sitting down?) (are you sitting down?)		vinden ik vind jij vindt hij vindt wij vinden jullie vinden zij vinden U vindt	(to find) (I find) (you find) (he finds) (we find) (you find) (they find) (you find)		vind ik? vind jij? vindt hij? vinden wij? vinden jullie? vinden zij? vindt U? 2	(do I find?) (do you find?) (does he find?) (do we find?) (do you find?) (do they find?) (do you find?)

Exceptions and Irregularities

mogen (to be allowed to, 'may')			kunnen (to be able to, 'can')
mogen ik mag jij mag hij mag wij mogen jullie mogen zij mogen U mag	('may') (I 'may') (you 'may') (he 'may') (we 'may') (you 'may') (they 'may') (you 'may')		kunnen ik kan jij kunt hij kan wij kunnen jullie kunnen zij kunnen U kunt	('can') (I 'can') (you 'can') (he 'can') (we 'can') (you 'can') (they 'can') (you 'can')		mag jij? kun jij?	are you allowed to? are you able to?
You can say both jij kan 2 3 and jij kunt, and also U kan and U kunt. Note that there is no T in jij mag, hij mag and jij kan, hij kan

A few common Dutch verbs have a short vowel in the singular and a long vowel in the plural. It's more common in the past tense; for the present the only example I can think of is komen ('to come'):

komen (to come)
ik kom jij komt hij komt wij komen jullie komen zij komen U komt	(I come) (you come) (he comes) (we come) (you come) (they come) (you come)		kom ik? kom jij? komt hij? komen wij? komen jullie? komen zij? komt U?	(am I coming?) (are you coming?) (is he coming?) (are we coming?) (are you coming?) (are they coming?) (are you coming?)

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The 'Smartphone' Verbs Pages have an overview of the verbs grammar and many pages with the full conjugation and many sample sentences of verbs

Useful Words and Phrases

Good morning Goedemorgen Good afternoon Goedemiddag Good evening Goedenavond Ladies and Gentlemen ... (addressing a group) Dames en Heren ... 2 Mr. and Sir Meneer ( = Mijnheer) Mr. van Dijk Meneer van Dijk Mrs. and Ma'am Mevrouw Mrs. Jansen Mevrouw Jansen Miss Juffrouw (old-fashioned) Miss de Jong Juffrouw de Jong

hi, hello hallo My name is ... Ik heet ... My name is ... Mijn naam is ...

Hi - I am Marco Hallo, ik ben Marco Hi - my name is Marco Hallo, ik heet Marco My name is Daniel Mijn naam is Daniël

What's your name? polite: Wat is Uw naam? 2 informal: Hoe heet je? 'Dutch' First Names

Happy birthday! Hartelijk gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! - more Birthday Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year! Prettige Kerstdagen en Een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! 2 Blessed Easter / Happy Easter! Zalig Pasen (said by Roman Catholics) / Prettige Paasdagen - ‑>> Happy Holidays! Prettige Feestdagen! 2 Happy New Year! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! - New Year's Resolutions Would you like a cup of tea? Wil je een kopje thee? 2 - Food and Drink

How are you? (polite)	Hoe maakt U het?
How are you? (informal)	Hoe gaat 't? Hoe is 't ermee?
Very good, thank you	Heel goed, dank je 2
And you?	En met jou?
Please	Alstublieft
Thank you (polite)	Dank U wel
Thank you (informal)	Dank je wel Bedankt!
Thank you, and the same to you	Bedankt en van hetzelfde 2
You're welcome, My pleasure	Graag gedaan
No Problem ('Minimal effort') Don't mention it ('no reason to thank me')	Kleine moeite Geen dank
Just a moment, please just a moment ...	Een momentje, alstublieft ogenblikje 2
Bless you! (Gesundheit!) (what you say when somebody sneezes)	Gezondheid!
Wishing you a speedy recovery	Beterschap - medical
Best wishes	Het beste ermee
Have fun	Veel plezier
Goodbye, See you	Tot ziens
See you this afternoon	Tot vanmiddag
See you in a moment	Tot zo 2
Have a nice day	Een prettige dag nog
Have a nice weekend	Prettig weekend 2
Bon Appetit (Enjoy your meal)	Eet smakelijk
Have a safe & pleasant trip	Goede reis
Sleep well, Happy dreams	Welterusten
I'm sorry	Het spijt me 2
What's going on?	Wat is er aan de hand?
Wait a moment ...	Wacht even 2
It cannot be helped [Nothing can be done about it]	Er is niks aan te doen
It doesn't matter	't Geeft niet 2
I think ... (In my view ..., "According to me ...")	Volgens mij ...

In Dutch, we don't say something like '"How are you?" to about everyone you come across, like in America. Just say it to people you already know. Next to Heel goed, dank je 2, other possible answers to "How are you?" are: goed 2 ('good') - redelijk ('reasonably, relatively well') - niet zo goed ('not so good') - belabberd 2 ('pretty bad.') Tot ziens is a the best all-purpose 'goodbye' and 'see you,' but it is a bit formal. With a more specific meaning you could say tot zo 2 ('see you in a moment') - tot straks 2 ('see you later') - tot vanmiddag ('see you this afternoon') - tot vanavond ('see you this evening') or tot maandag ('see you Monday.') Morgen! 2 "Morning!" - short for Goedemorgen "Good morning!" - often 'softened' to goeiemorgen - or further shortened to môge 2 Most often 'morgen' 2 means: 'tomorrow' but it can also mean 'morning' and 'good morning!' For 'goodbye' I can only think of the somewhat informal dag - which is often stretched out to da-ag - or even into a long goodbye dag - da-ag - dag hoor - nou, dag hoor 2. You may hear people say doei or doe-ie but I think it's a bit intimate. Originally from Groningen, but now a generally popular 'goodbye' is hoi or even moi . When I was a teenager, we said things like aju (from French 'adieu') - tabé (from Malay) or de mazzel! (from Hebrew 'mazzal,' luck) but those things went out of fashion. I often say sterkte with a goodbye, it's like 'good luck.' Literally it means [wishing you] 'strength.' Alstublieft is the magic word 'please,' but it's also said when you hand someone something, like 'here you are,' and sometimes it's said in reply to a 'thank you,' in the sense of 'you're welcome, my pleasure.' I have the impression people in England and America don't say something like "Enjoy your meal" to the other diners at the table, it's the waiter or waitress who says that; but in Holland, saying Eet smakelijk to your fellow diners is very common.

question vraag answer antwoord yes ja no nee maybe, perhaps misschien

I can't hear what you're saying Ik kan U niet goed verstaan I don't understand what you're saying Ik begrijp niet wat U zegt Could you please say that again? Kunt U dat nog eens zeggen? Would you mind repeating that? Zou U dat nog eens willen zeggen? 2

- Where is the bathroom? Waar is de WC?
In public places, a sign on that bathroom door will say 'Heren' (or old-fashioned 'Heeren' - 'Gents') or 'Dames' ('Ladies')

Emergency Preparedness

emergency, urgent case

(het) spoedgeval 2

emergencies

noodgevallen 2

help me! help! danger (het) gevaar dangerous gevaarlijk be careful! pas op! look out! kijk uit! 2 careful! voorzichtig! pay attention! opgelet! warning (de) waarschuwing 2

fire! brand! 2 ‑>> fire department (de) brandweer 2 firefighter (de) brandweerman 2 police (de) politie police station (het) politiebureau policeman, 'cop' (de) politieman 2 (de) agent 2 "officer" agent 2

hospital (het) ziekenhuis ambulance (de) ambulance (Fr.) doctor, MD (de) dokter >> medical nurse (de) verpleegster 2

pharmacy (de) apotheek 2 fever (de) koorts 2 crash, collision (de) botsing 2 accident (het) ongeluk 2

de / het / 't de het 't

(the)

een, 'n

(a)

één

(one)

>>

(het) gevaar danger in gevaar 2 3 in danger, endangered zonder veel gevaar without much danger zonder waarschuwing 2 without warning

gevaarlijk 2 dangerous levensgevaarlijk 2 life-threatening in levensgevaar 2 in mortal danger waarschuwen 2 3 4 to warn

in gevaar brengen 2 3 4	[to bring into danger] to endanger
Ze zijn een gevaar voor de wereldvrede	They are a danger to world peace
Ik heb jullie gewaarschuwd 2	I have warned you, I did warn you (plural 'you')
Hij waarschuwde voor complicaties 2 3	He warned of complications
loos alarm 2	false alarm

Ordinal Numbers

eerste 2 tweede 2 derde 2 vierde 2 vijfde 2 hear 5

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

zesde zevende achtste negende tiende

6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

elfde twaalfde dertiende veertiende vijftiende

11th 12th 13th 14th 15th

twintigste eenentwintigste honderdste duizendste miljoenste

20th 21st 100th 1000th 1,000,000th more numbers

de Eerste Engelse Zeeoorlog	the 1st Anglo-Dutch War (1652-54)
de Tweede Engelse Zeeoorlog	the 2nd Anglo-Dutch War (1665-67)
de Derde Engelse Zeeoorlog	the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War (1672-74)
de Vierde Engelse Zeeoorlog	the 4th Anglo-Dutch War (1781-84)
'Engelse Zeeoorlog'	is literally 'English Sea-war' ‑>>

From Zuider Zee to Lake IJssel (1916-1968) - 20th Century Land Reclamation

De IJsselmeerpolders 2 ('the reclaimed land in Lake IJssel')
Work on the Closing Dam ('de Afsluitdijk' 2) was started in 1927 and it was finished in 1932.

Old and New
Zuiderzee 2
Urk
Schokland
Afsluitdijk 2 ("Closing Dam")
(het) IJsselmeer

The reclaimed land:
Andijk - (a small 1927 experiment)
Wieringermeer - (1927-30 -190 km², 75 sq. miles)
(de) Noordoostpolder 2 - (1937-42 - 465 km², 180 sq. miles)

Oostelijk Flevoland 2 - (1950-57 - 525 km², 200 sq. miles)
Zuidelijk Flevoland - (1959-68 - 425 km² 165 sq. miles)
(de) Markerwaard - (... - 400 km² 155 sq. miles)

For the Markerwaard some dams were laid, but its completion is postponed indefinitely.
I guess some ranches in Texas are the size of Dutch polders.

Cities Old

Hindeloopen Stavoren Lemmer

Kampen Harderwijk 2 Amsterdam

Volendam 2 Hoorn Enkhuizen Medemblik

Cities New

Wieringerwerf 2 Emmeloord Dronten

Lelystad Almere Zeewolde

In the old days, ships had to sail down the Zuiderzee 2 - map to reach Amsterdam, but in the 1870s, (het) Noordzeekanaal ('North Sea Channel') was dug, from Amsterdam West to IJmuiden ('the mouth of the IJ') on the North Sea.
Het IJ 2 is a body of water near Amsterdam.

>> more maps

The Delta Protection Works, 1953-1986

To maintain a saltwater and tides environment one opening to the sea was not closed off with a permanent dam, but a $3 billion storm-surge barrier (Stormvloedkering ) was built that can be lowered when a gale threatens. (The line of dots in the lower map.)

Rivers (de) Rijn 2 (de) Waal 2 (de) Maas (de) Schelde 2

Cities Rotterdam Dordrecht Den Briel

Zierikzee Middelburg 2 Vlissingen Goes

Terneuzen Bergen-op-Zoom Rosendaal 2

Flushing is the English name for the port of Vlissingen

De Watersnoodramp 2 (The Flood Disaster)
Het Deltaplan 2 ('The Delta Protection Plan')
De Deltawerken ('The Delta Protection Works')
(de) Stormvloedkering ('Storm-surge barrier')
Rijkswaterstaat 2 the government agency for water management

In early 1953, the combination of a very high tide and a full day of high winds from exactly the wrong direction caused widespread flooding in Southwestern Holland. 1854 People died. The water kept rising after the tide was expected to turn - it must have been very frightening. The main problem seems to have been that the landside of the dikes quickly washes away when large amounts of water come over the dike. After the disaster a grand plan was developed that drastically shortened the coastline, so it was much easier to strengthen and maintain the dikes facing the sea.

The real Hans Brinker When in the Flood of 1953 the Schielandse Hoge Zeedijk 2 - a dike at Ouderkerk aan de IJssel 2 (see large arrow in map) - was about to break, threatening part of the Dutch heartland, skipper Arie Evegroen offered to sail his river barge De Twee Gebroeders ('The Two Brothers') in front of the vulnerable spot and sank it there. 'Hans Brinker' - The Real Hans Brinker

Thank you Ian Davies and Mark Fairweather for feedback that improved the page.

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