Dutch grammar

The Dutch grammar dealt with in a systematic manner the properties of the Dutch language . This can be assigned to the West Germanic branch of Germanic . The Dutch grammar in this article is the grammar of the modern Dutch language.

syntax

Like all Germanic languages ​​except English and Scots , the Dutch language has a word order with a V2 position . That is, in Dutch, the finite verb (i.e. the verb that indicates the personal forms and time level) comes second in propositional sentences; any part of the sentence can take the first position in the sentence:

sentence	translation
Jeroen co-opt drop.	Jeroen buys liquorice.
In de winter Jeroen drop co- opt.	In winter Jeroen buys liquorice.
Ondanks zijn suikerziekte koopt Jeroen dagelijks drop.	Despite his diabetes , Jeroen buys liquorice every day.
Waarom koopt Jeroen drop?	Why does Jeroen buy liquorice?
Drop koopt Jeroen just af en toe.	Jeroen rarely buys liquorice .

In subordinate clauses, Dutch has two possible word positions:

		Apron	left bracket	midfield				right bracket		Nachfeld
main clause	a.	Tasman	heeft	Nieuw-Zeeland				ontdect
		Tasman	Has	New Zealand				discovered
	b.	In 1642	ontdect	Tasman	Nieuw-Zeeland
		1642	discovered	Tasman	New Zealand
	c.	Nobody	had					thought		dat ook maar iets zou gebeuren .
		Nobody	would have					thought		that something was going to happen.
		'Nobody thought anything would happen.'
subordinate clause	d.		dat	Tasman	Nieuw-Zeeland			heeft ontdekt
			that	Tasman	New Zealand			has discovered
		... 'that' Tasman discovered New Zealand. '
	e.		dat	Tasman	Nieuw-Zeeland			ontdekt zou lift .
			that	Tasman	New Zealand			would have discovered		(more common in the northern part of the Netherlands)
		... 'that Tasman would have discovered New Zealand.'
	f.		dat	Tasman	Nieuw-Zeeland			zou lift ontdect .
			that	Tasman	New Zealand			would have discovered		(more common in Belgium and the southern part of the Netherlands)
		... 'that Tasman would have discovered New Zealand.'

Gender and nouns

In Dutch, there is a distinction between utrum and neuter among articles , whereby the utrum is derived from the earlier masculine and feminine.

items

Certain articles

The definite articles in Dutch are de (utr and plural) and het (neuter).

genus	Singular	Plural	translation
Utrum	de man	de mannen	the man
Utrum	de vrouw	de vrouwen	the woman
neuter	het child	de kinderen	the child

Indefinite article

The indefinite article of Dutch is een . The pronunciation is usually [ʏn], with [e: n] the number one is meant.

genus	Singular	translation
Utrum	een man	a man
Utrum	een vrouw	a woman
neuter	a child	a child

Number of nouns

Dutch distinguishes between singular (singular) and plural (plural) as numerical features.

Regular plural formation

The plural endings of the regular nouns are formed with the endings -en , -s and -eren .

The ending -en is the most common. If the vowel is pronounced briefly, the last consonant is doubled. This doubling does not occur if the final syllable ends in -el , -em , -es , -et , -ik or -it . If a word in the singular ends in -f or -s , this consonant often becomes -v or -z in the plural :

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
de vlag	de vlag gen	the flag	short vowel
het beest	de beest en	the animal	long vowel
de man	de man nen	the man	short vowel
de maan	de man en	the moon	long vowel
het huis	de hui zen	the House	Singular ends in -s
de monnik	de monnik en	The monk	End syllable on -el , -em , -es , -et , -ik or -it

The ending -s only follows if the noun ends in an open vowel, or if the last syllable contains a schwa . For open vowels , an apostrophe is written to prevent the vowel from being read as closed :

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
het café	de café s	the pub	Open vowel
de auto	de auto 's	the car	Open vowel would be closed
de jugging	de jongen s	boy	Schwa in the final syllable

In Dutch, different words are formed with the so-called double plural -ere . In the diminutive plural, however, these nouns are formed with the ending -s .

If a word in the singular ends in -f or -s , this consonant sometimes becomes -v or -z in the plural . These are words whose stem originally starts with -v or -z ; However, a language rule stipulates that -f or -s is written in these cases . So not: huiz, kalv; rather: huis, kalf . So this does not apply to those words whose stem historically starts with -f or -s , e.g. B. de straf (Pl. Straffen), Ger .: penalty; de kus (pl. to kiss), Ger. Kiss.

	Plural	translation	annotation
het child	de kind eren	the child
het kalf	de kal veren	the calf	Singular ends in -f
het huis	de hui zen	the House	Singular ends in -s

Nouns in the diminutive form have the plural ending -s.

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
het dakje	de dakje s	the little roof
het maantje	de maantje s	the little moon
het raampje	de raampje s	the little window
het gaatje	de gaatje s	the little hole

Irregular plural formation

Many words with the vowels / ɑ /, / ɛ /, and / ɔ / in the stem have no doubling of the final consonant in the plural, and the vowel is pronounced long in the plural. A few words with the vowel / ɪ / also have no doubling of the final consonant; the -i is written in the plural as -e . If a word ends in -d in the singular, this consonant is pronounced as [t], but in the plural as [d].

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
het dak	de dak en	the roof	[dɑk] → [da: kɛn]
het give	de give en	the prayer	[xɛbɛt] → [xɛbeːdɛn]
de oorlog	de oorlog en	the war	[oːrlɔx] → [oːrloːxɛn]
het schip	de sh e p s	the ship	[sxɪp] → [sxeːpɛn]
het pak	de pak ken	the suit	[pɑk] → [pɑkɛn]
het bed	de bed the	the bed	[bɛt] → [bɛtɛn]
de cop	de kop pen	the head (of an animal)	[kɔp] → [kɔpɛn]
de kip	de kip pen	the chicken, the hen	[kɪp] → [kɪpɛn]

Nouns that end in -heid in the singular get the ending -heden in the plural .

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
de over heid	de over heden	the State	[oːvɛrɦɛɪt] → [oːvɛrɦe: dɛn]
de zwak heid	de zwak heden	the weakness	[zʋɑkɦɛɪt] → [zʋɑkɦe: dɛn]

For some compositions with -man , the plural is formed with -lui or -lieden :

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
de work man	de work lui	the worker
de brandweer man	de brandweer lieden (in Flanders: de brandweerlui)	the fireman

Keep foreign words, especially if they are rarely used in everyday language, sometimes the plural ending of the original language:

Singular	Plural	translation	annotation
het museum	de musea	the museum	(Latin; as many other words ending in -um)
de musicus	de musici	the musician	(Latin; as many other "learned" words ending in -us)
het balance	de saldi	the balance	(Italian)

Pluralia tantum and Singularia tantum

In Dutch, different words only exist in the plural. For example “hersenen” (brain), “financiën” (finances) and diseases such as “waterpokken” (chickenpox) or “mazelen” (measles).

Many substance names such as “melk” (milk) or “kwik” (mercury), on the other hand, do not have a plural.

Diminutive

Diminutive are very strongly represented in Dutch and always neuter. The frequent use of diminutive forms is often intended to create a friendly atmosphere, but can also be meant ironically. There are also a number of lexicalized diminutives, i.e. words that have acquired their own meaning in the diminutive form. Not only nouns can be reduced in the Dutch language, but also certain adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions and numerals.

noun	Diminutive	translation	annotation
de hand	het hand je	the little hand	+ -e
de vrouw	het vrouw tje	the little woman	End syllable on -l, -n, -w, -r, -e → + -tje
de auto	het auto otje	the little car	End syllable on -a, -o, -u → Vowel doubling + -tje
de kraam	het kraam pje	the little booth	Final syllable on -m
de man de bal	het man netje het bal letje	the little booth	Short vowel → consonant doubling + -etje .

There are also some irregular diminutives:

noun	Diminutive	translation	annotation
het glas	het gl aa s je	the little glass
het blad	het bl aa d je	the little leaf
het gat	het g aa t je	the little hole
de jugging	het jong etje	the little boy
het vat	het v aa t je	the little barrel	But: het handvat → het handvatje (the little handle)
het schip	het sch ee p je	the little ship
het pad	het p aa d je	the little path

Lexicalized diminutives with their own meaning:

Diminutive	translation	annotation
het ijs het ijsje	the ice cream the ice cream
de bon het bonnetje	the ticket, the receipt, the receipt	Can also be meant ironically / insultingly: "Meneer agent, geeft u mij het bonnetje maar." ↔ "Mr. Policeman, give me the ticket."
een stel een stelletje stelletje luilakken	a pair of a young pair of idlers!
een moetje de moetjes	Expression for a marriage under the impression of an existing (unplanned) pregnancy, literally: must-do.	Reduced verb (must).
onder us onderonsje	an intimate conversation between us	Reduced personal pronoun. Can also be meant negatively: the fraud.
great groentje	green newbie, novice	Noun diminished adjective.
blauw een blauwtje (lopen)	being rejected in blue (during a date)	Noun diminished adjective.
vijf vijfje	five u. a. 5 euro banknote	Reduced numerals. Can also be used insultingly: "Ze is hoogstens een vijfje". ↔ "It is at most a five (on a ten-point scale)." Can also be put into perspective: "Deze toets gaat een vijfje sein". ↔ "This test will be a five (but I won't care much)."
bleek bleekjes	pale a little pale	Reduced adjective.

Adjectives

Mutable adjectives

The adjective declination in Dutch depends on both the article of the noun and the preceding part of speech. After the specific articles, after demonstrative pronouns and possessive pronouns, adjectives are given the ending -e :

Part of speech	Example of use	Basic form of the adjective	translation	annotation
Definite Article (Utrum)	De saai e man	saai	The boring man
Definite article (neuter)	Het mooi e meisje	mooi	The beautiful girl
Demonstrative pronouns	De lelijk e vrouw Het lelijk e huis	lelijk	The ugly woman The ugly house
Demonstrative pronouns	De rod e auto	rood	The red car	[red] → [rodə]
possessive pronouns	Hun nieuw e fietsen	nieuw	Your new bikes
possessive pronouns	Mijn grot e Laufde	groot	My great love	[ɣred] → [ɣredə]
possessive pronouns	Onze liev e ouders	ran	Our dear parents	[f] → [v]

In the case of factual nouns, the adjective after the indefinite article and indefinite pronoun ( geen, ieder, veel, welk, zo'n ) remains unbowed. Utrum nouns get an -e :

Part of speech	Example of use	Basic form of the adjective	translation	annotation
Indefinite article (utrum)	Een belangrijk e voorwaarde	belangrijk	An important condition
Indefinite article (neuter)	A great idea	wild	A great idea
Indefinite pronouns	Hij is geen onpatient e jongen onpatient	lelijk	He's not an impatient boy
Indefinite pronouns	He is veel vervelend nieuws	verveling	There is a lot of unpleasant news

In the predicative position after the noun, the adjective is not inflected:

Example of use	Basic form of the adjective	translation	annotation
De jongen rende snel	snel	The boy ran quickly
De vrouw heeft goed pulled	goed	The woman sang well

Immutable adjectives

Adjectives that end in the vowels -a, -é, -i, -y, -o, -e (Schwa-Laut) or -en are not inflected. Substance adjectives and the adjectives right , left and free are not inflected either:

Example of use	Basic form of the adjective	translation	annotation
A cliché film	cliché	A clichéd film	Vowel on -a, -é, -i, -y, -o, -e
Het houten been	hout	The wooden leg	Substance adjective
Een dronken you	dronken	A drunk man	Vowel on -en
Aan de left edge	left	On the left side	right , left , free

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Personal pronoun subject	Personal pronoun (in) direct object	translation	annotation
ik	mij	I, me / me
jij	jou	you, you / you
u	u	You, you / you
hij	hem	he, him / him
zij	hair	she, she / her
het	hem	it, it / him
men	-	man, -
wij	ons	we us
jullie	jullie	you, yourselves
zij	hen / hun	them, they / them	Accusative and after preposition: hen dative: hun

The singular personal pronouns are hij (masculine), zij / ze (feminine) and het (neuter). In female personal pronouns, there is a difference between a stressed ( zij ) and an unstressed ( ze ) variant.

genus	Personal pronouns	example	translation
Masculine	hij	De auto, hij is stolen!	The car, it was stolen!
Feminine	zij, ze	Deze vrouw, ze what al vaker here.	This woman, she's been here before.
neuter	het	Dit child, het huilt de hele dag.	That kid, screams all day.

possessive pronouns

possessive pronouns	translation	Instruction
mijn	my-
jouw	your-
etc.	Your-
zijn	be-
hair	her-
ons, onze	our-	ons (neuter) onze (utrum)
jullie	your, your-
hun	her-

The possessive pronouns other than sex are in the singular zijn (masculine and neuter), hair / d'r (feminine) and hun in the plural. In female personal pronouns, there is a difference between a stressed ( hair ) and an unstressed variant ( d'r ).

genus	possessive pronouns	example	translation
Masculine	zijn	De stoel state niet sea op zijn plek.	The chair is no longer in place.
Feminine	hair	De waarheid vindt hair away wel.	The truth will find its way.
neuter	zijn	Het advocatenkantoor heeft zijn glans lost.	The law office has lost its reputation.

• Females who are grammatical neuter are indicated with the possessive pronoun "hair".

Adverbs

Causal adverbs

Causal adverb	Example of use	translation	annotation
Daarom	We provide u op de hoogte, zodra we uw results lift. Daarom we nu nog uw phone number necessary.	We will notify you as soon as we have your results. That's why we still need your phone number.	Reason
Dus Daardoor	Ik heb tomorrow vroeg een afspraak bij de dokter, dus ik kom een ​​beetje later op kantoor. Ik heb tomorrow vroeg een afspraak bij de dokter, daardoor kom ik een beetje later op kantoor.	I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. So I come to the office a little later.	Reason
Namelijk	Kunt u een beetje slower to speak? Ik ben namelijk geen Nederlandse.	Can you speak a little more slowly, please? I'm namely no Dutch.	Reason
Desondanks Ondanks dat Toch	Karin gaat het wat de gezondheid concerns niet zo goed. Desondanks gaat ze naar het work. Karin gaat het wat de gezondheid concerns niet zo goed. Ondanks dat gaat ze naar het work. Karin gaat het wat de gezondheid concerns niet zo goed. Toch gaat ze naar het work.	Karin's health is not good. Still she goes to work.	Consistency, different than expected
Different	Kom onder mijn paraplu, different word je helemaal nat!	Come under my umbrella or you'll get all wet!	Consistency, undesirable
You	Erik was gisteren helemaal niet op kantoor, dus hij kan dat money niet hebben stolen.	Erik wasn't here in the office yesterday, so he couldn't have stolen the money .	Logical order

Interrogative adverbs

Interrogative adverb	Example of use	translation	annotation
tuber	Wanneer kom je naar huis?	When are you coming home
waar	Have you ever been?	Where have you been
waarom	Waarom heb je dat gedaan?	Why did you do that
hoe	Hoe gaat het met jou?	How are you
long	Hoelang wil jij nog blijven?	How long do you want to stay
hoeveel	Hoeveel money heb je bij je?	How much money do you have with you?
hoezo	Hoezo heb je mij niet gevraagd, of je my car like used?	Why didn't you ask me if you can use my car?	Is only used in the direct question sentence.

Modal particle

Modal particle	Example of use	translation
al	Ah, there ever al !	Ah, there you are already !
even	Kan je alsjeblieft even voor me nakijken?	Can you please times just for me look?
maar eens	Kijk maar eens hoe hoog ik kan jump!	Look times how high I can jump!
toch	Ik heb je toch gezegd dat ik het niet wil!	I told you but said that I do not want it!

Pronominal adverb

Pronominal adverbs like in , why , of these are documented in several Germanic languages, but they have developed strongly in Dutch and play a major role. The relative pronouns are constantly replaced by a pronominal adverb in combination with prepositions:

Het huis waarin ik / waar ik in born ben

The house in which I was born (literally: "The house in / where I was born in")

pronoun	Substitute adverb
everyting everything)	overal (everywhere)
dat (that that)	daar (there, there)
dit (this-)	here here)
het (it)	he (it)
iets (something)	ergens (somewhere, somehow)
niets (nothing)	nergens (nowhere, nothing)
wat (what)	waar (where)

Verbs and conjugation

Weak verbs

The weak verbs in Dutch are divided into two groups, verbs ending in -te (n) in the past tense, or -de (n) . After a voiceless plosive ([p], [t], [k]) or fricative ([f], [s], [x]) in the verb stem, the participle is written with -t and the past tense ends in -te (n ) . With regard to the spelling, the pronunciation rules must be observed during conjugation : single spelling of long vowels in open syllables, double spelling in closed syllables.

infinitive	1st person singular (presence)	2nd / 3rd Person singular (presence)	1./2. Person plural (presence)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person singular (simple past)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person plural (simple past)	participle	translation	annotation
ma k s	maak	maakt	maken	maak te	maak th	gemaak t	do	Plosive ([k]) → -te (n)
fiet s en	fiets	fetches	fiett	fiets te	fiets th	gefiets t	to go biking	Fricative ([s]) → -te (n)
big t s	groet	groet	groeten	groet te	groet th	grown t	burn	Plosive ([t]) → -th (n) No doubling of the T in the 2nd / 3rd Person singular in presence.
vre z en	vrees	vreest	vrezen	vrees de	vrees the	gevrees d	to fear	-
spe l en	speel	spits	spelen	speel de	speel the	Speel d	play	-
bran d s	fire	brandt	brand	brand de	brand the	burned d	burn	-

• The consonants g and ch are pronounced identically in modern Dutch, only ch is regarded as a fricative in the past tense endings.
• If the verb with the prefix loading , manufacturing , ER , ont- or comparable begins, the past participle is no overall formed.

Irregular verbs

modal verbs

infinitive	1st person singular (presence)	2nd person singular (presence)	3rd person singular (presence)	1./2. Person plural (presence)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person singular (simple past)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person plural (simple past)	participle	translation	annotation
zijn, wezen	ben	needed	is	zijn	What	were	been	be, be
lift	heb	lifts	heeft	lift	had	hadden	had	to have
been	word	wordt	wordt	been	will	become	become	become
to zero	zal	zult	zal	to zero	-	-	-	become	"Zullen" can only be used as an auxiliary verb to form the future tense.

Aspect modal verbs

Exceptionally for Germanic languages, Dutch uses the verbs staan, liggen and zitten (stand, lie, sit), in addition to regular strong verbs, also as a kind of auxiliary verb:

infinitive	1st person singular (presence)	2nd / 3rd Person singular (presence)	1./2. Person plural (presence)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person singular (simple past)	1./2. Person plural (simple past)	participle	example	translation	annotation
staan	sta	Country	staan	stond	stonden	gestaan	" There are no rivets!"	Do not lie!	Imperative + Separated Infinitive Literally: Don't stand to lie!
quakes	quoted	quoted	quakes	zat	zaten	teased	"In de tank zit nog petrol."	There is still gasoline in the tank.
liggen	lig	ligt	liggen	lay	lay	located	"Hij heeft zitten woke up."	He waited.	Literally: He has to sit waiting.

Auxiliary verbs (auxiliary verbs)

infinitive	1st person singular (presence)	2nd person singular (presence)	3rd person singular (presence)	1./2. Person plural (presence)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person singular (simple past)	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person plural (simple past)	participle	translation	annotation
hoeven	hoef	hope	hope	hoeven	hoefde	hoefden	hoeven	need, must	Only exists in combination with a negation.
can	can	kunt	can	can	con	condensate	customer	can
moeten	moet	moet	moet	moeten	moest	moesten	mooted	must, need, should
to like	like	like	like	to like	likes	would like	liked	may, like
sake	wil	wil (t)	wil	sake	wou, wild	wou, wild	wouden, wild	want
to zero	zal	zult	zal	to zero	zou	zouden	-	should be	“Zullen” has no participle.

Strong verbs

The conjugation endings in the present tense are the same for strong verbs and irregular verbs, with the exception of hebben , zijn , zullen and willen . The strong verbs, with long open and long closed vowels, get a double spelling of the long vowel in the singular.

infinitive	1st person singular	2nd / 3rd person singular	1st / 2nd / 3rd Person plural	translation	annotation
lopen	loop	loop t	lop en	to run	Strong verb, double spelling of the long vowel due to closed syllable.
gaan	ga	gaa t	gaa n	go	Strong verb, simple spelling of the long vowel because of the open syllable.
eten	eet	eet	et en	eat	Strong verb, double spelling of the long vowel due to closed syllable. The ending -t is with verbs with stem on -t not even added the second and third person singular.

• If the 2nd person singular is placed after the present tense, the ending -t is omitted .

In the past tense there is a difference between the singular and the plural in the conjugation endings, whereby the vowel in the past tense and participle changes according to its verb class.

Verb class	infinitive	Simple past (singular)	Past tense (plural)	participle	translation	Other verbs in this class (selection)	Consonant Change (IPA)
1.	r ij den	r ee d	r e the	ger e the	drive	bezwijken, bijten, blijken, blijven, drijven, glijden, grijpen, hijsen, kijken, kijven, knijpen, krijgen, krijsen, krijten, kwijten, lijden, lijken, mijden, nijgen, nijpen, prijzen, rijgen, rijten schijnen, schijten, schrijden, schrijven, slijpen, slijten, smijten, snijden, spijten, splijten, stijgen, stijven, strijden, strijken, (aan) tijgen, verdwijnen, vijzen, vrijen, wijken, wijten, wijzen, wrijten, wrijten , between	[ɛɪ] → [e] → [e] → [e]
2a.	vr ie zen	vr oo r	vr o ren	gevr o ren	freeze	bedriegen, bieden, riveting, gieten, kiezen, klieven, lying, rieken, schieten, betriegen, lost, vlieden, viegen, vlieten, zieden	[i] → [ɔː] → [ɔː] → [ɔː]
2 B.	sl ui th	sl oo t	sl o th	GESL o th	conclude	buigen, druipen, duiken, fluiten, fuiven, kluiven, kruien, kruipen, (ont) luiken, pluizen, ruiken, schuilen, schuiven, sluiken, sluipen, snuiten, snuiven, spruiten, spuiten, stuiven, tuigen, wuiven, zuigen, zuipen	[ay] → [ɔː] → [ɔː] → [o]
3a.	b i ligands	b o nd	b o ligands	give o ends	tie	begin, blink, (af) things, penetrate, drink, dwingen, glimmer, clink, latch, crimp, ontginnen, schrikken, slink, spin, jump, stink, sink, twist, find, wind, win, wring, pinch, tine , pinnacles	[ɪ] → [ɔ] → [ɔ] → [ɔ]
3b.	b e rgen	b o rg	b o rgen	give o rgen	to recover	delven, gelden, kerven, milking, schelden, donate, give, smelt, meet, trek, vechten, vlechten, dwarf, Zwellen, zwelten, pinch, donate	[ɛ] → [ɔ] → [ɔ] → [ɔ]
3c.	h e lpen	h he lp	h he lpen	go o lpen	help	(be) derven, sterven, werpen, werven, zwerven	[ɛ] → [i] → [i] → [ɔ]
4a.	st e len	st a l	st a len	d o len	steal	bevelen, breken, komen, nemen, spreken, steken	[e] → [ɑ] → [a] → [o]
4b.	sch e ren	sch oo r	sch o ren	est o ren	shave, scissors	because of, zweren	[e] → [ɔ:] → [ɔ:] → [ɔ:]
5a.	g e ven	g a f	g a ven	geg e ven	give	eten, genezen, lezen, meten, treden, vreten, vergeten, weven	[e] → [ɑ] → [a] → [e]
5b.	l i ggen	l a g	l a gen	gel e gen	lie	bidden, liggen, zitten	[ɪ] → [ɑ] → [a] → [e]
6th	gr a ven	gr oe f	gr oe ven	gr a ven	dig	varen, dragen	[a] → [u] → [u] → [a]
7a.	l a th	l ie t	l ie th	gel a th	to let	blaze, slap, bike	[a] → [i] → [i] → [a]
7b.	v a ll	v ie l	v ie len	v a len	fall	-	[ɑ] → [i] → [i] → [ɑ]
7c.	v a ngen	v i ng	v i ngen	gev a nts	to catch	hang	[ɑ] → [ɪ] → [ɪ] → [ɑ]
7d.	l o pen	l ie p	l ie pen	gel o pen	to run	-	[o] → [i] → [i] → [o]
7e.	r oe pen	r ie p	r ie pen	ger oe pen	call	-	[u] → [i] → [i] → [u]
7f.	h ou den	h he ld	h he lden	go ou the	hold	houwen	[au] → [i] → [i] → [au]

Subjunctive, perfect, past perfect and progressive present tense

The subjunctive I is formed in Dutch with "zou / zouden" (past tense of "zullen") + infinitive. The subjunctive II can also be formed with “had / hadden” (past tense of “hebben”) at certain points.

example	translation	annotation
Hij zou de loterij hebben won.	He would have won the lottery.	Literally: he would have won the lottery.
Had ik dat weten, had ik het niet.	If I knew that, I would not have done it.	Literally: if I had that conscience, I hadn't done it.

The perfect is formed by the respective personal form of zijn or hebben in the present tense and the participle:

example	translation
Ik ben geweest	I have been
Jij lifts gehad	You have had
Wij zijn come	We have come
Jullie hebben speeld	You played
Hij is started	He started it
We lift ontmoet	We met

The past perfect is formed by the corresponding personal form of zijn or hebben in the past tense and the participle:

example	translation
Ik was geweest	I had been
Wij zijn geweest	We had been
Hij had had	He had had
Wij hadden gehad	We have had

The progressive present tense in Dutch refers to a form that indicates that an activity is currently taking place. It is formed by a structure with the corresponding form of zijn in the present tense, the preposition "aan", the article "het" and an infinitive:

example	translation	annotation
Ik was mijn handen	I wash my hands	presence
Ik ben mijn handen aan het water	I'm washing my hands right now	Progressive presence

• A similar construction is formed with the aspect modal verbs, the preposition te ("to") and an infinitive.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A few hundreds with the vowel / ɑ /, a few dozen with the vowel / ɛ / or / ɔ /