Dutch grammar: a complete guide with examples
Last checked: 29 October 2026
Dutch grammar is close to English and German. The parts that need the most practice are word order (the verb comes second, or at the end), the two articles de and het, verb endings, and separable verbs. This guide covers every major area with real examples, and links to a one-page cheat sheet for each one.
You do not need to read it from top to bottom. Use the table to jump to what you need. If you are just starting, read Dutch grammar for beginners first. It tells you what to learn in which order. If you want the core rules in one list, read Dutch grammar rules.
All grammar areas at a glance
| Area | The main idea | Cheat sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Word order | Verb in position 2; verb at the end after dat, omdat | Word order |
| Present tense | Stem + t for jij and hij; infinitive for plural | Verbs |
| Past tense | -te or -de, plus many irregular verbs | Past tense |
| Separable verbs | The prefix moves to the end: Ik bel je op | Separable verbs |
| Modal verbs | kunnen, moeten, willen, mogen + infinitive at the end | Modal verbs |
| Nouns | de or het; plurals with -en or -s | Nouns |
| Adjectives | Add -e, except before a het-word after een | Adjectives |
| Pronouns | Subject, object and possessive forms | Pronouns |
| Negation | geen for nouns without de/het, niet for the rest | Negation |
| Questions | Verb first; jij drops the -t | Questions |
| Time | half drie means 2:30 | Time |
| Prepositions | in, op, aan, bij, naar, met | Prepositions |
| Conjunctions | Some keep word order, some send the verb to the end | Conjunctions |
| Diminutives | -je endings, always het | Diminutives |
| The word er | "there", "of them", and more | Er |
All sheets are also on the cheat sheets page.
Word order
Word order is the area where Dutch differs most from English. There are three patterns to learn.
1. Main clause: the verb comes second. The conjugated verb is always the second element. If you start with something other than the subject, the subject moves behind the verb.
- Ik werk morgen. (I work tomorrow.)
- Morgen werk ik. (Tomorrow I work.)
- In Utrecht woont mijn zus. (My sister lives in Utrecht.)
English allows "Tomorrow I work". Dutch does not allow Morgen ik werk.
2. Other verb forms go to the end. Infinitives and past participles stand at the end of the clause.
- Ik wil morgen werken. (I want to work tomorrow.)
- Ik heb gisteren gewerkt. (I worked yesterday.)
3. Subordinate clause: all verbs at the end. After words like dat, omdat, als and wanneer, the conjugated verb moves to the end too.
- Ik weet dat hij morgen komt. (I know that he is coming tomorrow.)
- Ik blijf thuis omdat ik ziek ben. (I am staying home because I am ill.)
A useful order for the middle of the sentence is time, manner, place: Ik ga morgen met de trein naar Amsterdam. (I am going to Amsterdam by train tomorrow.)
Practise this with the sentence builder and keep the word order cheat sheet open.
Verbs in the present tense
Find the stem by taking -en off the infinitive: werken gives werk. Then:
| Person | werken (to work) | wonen (to live) |
|---|---|---|
| ik | werk | woon |
| jij / je | werkt | woont |
| u | werkt | woont |
| hij / zij / het | werkt | woont |
| wij / jullie / zij | werken | wonen |
Two spelling rules matter here:
- A long vowel keeps its sound by doubling: wonen gives woon, maken gives maak.
- A double consonant becomes single: zitten gives zit, liggen gives lig.
If the stem already ends in -t, you do not add another one: hij zit, jij eet.
The most common irregular verbs are zijn (ik ben, jij bent, hij is, wij zijn) and hebben (ik heb, jij hebt, hij heeft, wij hebben). Learn these two first.
Look up any verb in the verb explorer and drill forms with the verb wheel. Full tables are in the verbs cheat sheet.
The past tense
Dutch has two past forms. In speech, the perfect is more common.
Perfect (voltooid tegenwoordige tijd): hebben or zijn + past participle.
- Ik heb gewerkt. (I worked / I have worked.)
- Ik ben naar huis gegaan. (I went home.)
Most verbs use hebben. Verbs of movement to a place or a change of state use zijn: gaan, komen, worden, beginnen, blijven.
Simple past (onvoltooid verleden tijd): used in stories and writing.
For regular verbs, look at the last letter of the stem. If it is one of the consonants in 't kofschip (t, k, f, s, ch, p), add -te / -ten. Otherwise add -de / -den.
| Infinitive | Stem | Simple past | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| werken | werk | werkte / werkten | gewerkt |
| wonen | woon | woonde / woonden | gewoond |
| fietsen | fiets | fietste / fietsten | gefietst |
| leren | leer | leerde / leerden | geleerd |
Irregular verbs change the vowel: lopen, liep, gelopen (walk); zijn, was, geweest (be); eten, at, gegeten (eat). There are about 200 of them, but you will use the same 30 or 40 all the time.
See the past tense cheat sheet.
Separable verbs
Many Dutch verbs have a prefix that splits off in a main clause and goes to the end: opbellen (to call), meenemen (to bring), afspreken (to arrange).
- Ik bel je morgen op. (I will call you tomorrow.)
- Ik heb je gisteren opgebeld. (I called you yesterday.)
- Ik wil je morgen opbellen. (I want to call you tomorrow.)
- Ik weet niet of ik je morgen opbel. (I don't know if I will call you tomorrow.)
The prefix stays attached when the verb is at the end. In the participle, ge- goes in the middle: op-ge-beld, mee-ge-nomen.
More in the separable verbs cheat sheet.
Modal verbs
The modal verbs are kunnen (can), moeten (must), willen (want), mogen (may) and zullen (shall/will). The modal is in position 2 and the main verb goes to the end as an infinitive.
- Ik kan goed koken. (I can cook well.)
- Je moet om negen uur beginnen. (You have to start at nine.)
- Mag ik hier parkeren? (May I park here?)
They are irregular in the singular: ik kan, jij kunt/kan, hij kan; ik wil, jij wilt/wil, hij wil.
See the modal verbs cheat sheet.
Nouns: de, het and plurals
Every noun is either a de-word or a het-word. There is no reliable rule for most words, so learn the article with the noun. A few rules do help:
- All plurals take de: het huis, de huizen.
- All diminutives take het: de tafel, het tafeltje.
- People are usually de: de man, de vrouw, de leraar. (Exceptions: het kind, het meisje.)
- Infinitives used as nouns are het: het eten (the food).
Plurals usually add -en: boek, boeken. Words ending in -el, -em, -en, -er and -je usually add -s: tafel, tafels; meisje, meisjes. Watch the spelling: huis becomes huizen, brief becomes brieven, man becomes mannen.
Test yourself with the de/het trainer and read the nouns cheat sheet.
Adjectives
An adjective before a noun gets -e in almost all cases. The one exception: a singular het-word after een, geen or no article.
| de-word (de auto) | het-word (het huis) | |
|---|---|---|
| with de/het | de grote auto | het grote huis |
| with een | een grote auto | een groot huis |
| plural | grote auto's | grote huizen |
After the verb, the adjective has no ending: Het huis is groot. (The house is big.)
See the adjectives cheat sheet.
Pronouns
| Subject | Object | Possessive |
|---|---|---|
| ik | mij / me | mijn |
| jij / je | jou / je | jouw / je |
| u | u | uw |
| hij | hem | zijn |
| zij / ze | haar | haar |
| het | het | zijn |
| wij / we | ons | ons / onze |
| jullie | jullie | jullie |
| zij / ze | hen / hun / ze | hun |
Use u with strangers, officials and older people. Use jij with friends, colleagues and anyone who says jij to you.
Ons or onze: use ons before a singular het-word (ons huis) and onze before everything else (onze auto, onze kinderen).
Full tables are in the pronouns cheat sheet.
Negation: niet and geen
- Use geen before a noun with een or no article: Ik heb een auto. becomes Ik heb geen auto. (I don't have a car.)
- Use niet in all other cases: Ik werk niet. (I don't work.) Ik heb de auto niet. (I don't have the car.)
Niet goes before adjectives, prepositions and verbs at the end: Het is niet duur. (It is not expensive.) Ik ga niet naar huis. (I am not going home.) Ik kan niet komen. (I can't come.)
See the negation cheat sheet.
Questions
For a yes/no question, put the verb first. With jij or je after the verb, drop the -t:
- Jij werkt morgen. becomes Werk jij morgen? (Are you working tomorrow?)
- U werkt morgen. becomes Werkt u morgen? (No change for u.)
With a question word, the question word comes first and the verb second: Waar woon je? (Where do you live?) Wanneer begint de les? (When does the class start?)
The main question words are wie (who), wat (what), waar (where), wanneer (when), waarom (why), hoe (how), welke/welk (which) and hoeveel (how much/many).
See the questions cheat sheet.
Telling the time
Dutch counts toward the next half hour:
| Time | Dutch |
|---|---|
| 2:00 | twee uur |
| 2:15 | kwart over twee |
| 2:20 | tien voor half drie |
| 2:30 | half drie |
| 2:40 | tien over half drie |
| 2:45 | kwart voor drie |
Half drie is 2:30, not 3:30. This causes many missed appointments. See the time cheat sheet.
Prepositions
Prepositions often do not translate one to one. Some common patterns:
- in for cities and countries: Ik woon in Utrecht.
- naar for direction: Ik ga naar Utrecht. (I am going to Utrecht.)
- op for days and surfaces: op maandag, op de tafel.
- om for clock times: om drie uur (at three o'clock).
- bij for at someone's place or company: Ik werk bij een bank. (I work at a bank.)
Many verbs have a fixed preposition: wachten op (wait for), denken aan (think of), houden van (love). Learn them as one unit. See the prepositions cheat sheet.
Conjunctions
There are two groups, and they do different things to word order.
Coordinating (en, maar, of, want): word order does not change.
- Ik blijf thuis, want ik ben ziek. (I am staying home, because I am ill.)
Subordinating (dat, omdat, als, wanneer, toen, terwijl, hoewel, of meaning "whether"): the verb goes to the end.
- Ik blijf thuis omdat ik ziek ben.
If the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause starts with the verb: Als het regent, blijf ik thuis. (If it rains, I stay home.)
See the conjunctions cheat sheet.
Diminutives
Dutch uses small forms a lot. They are for small things, and also to sound friendly. The ending is usually -je, but it changes with the sound of the word:
| Noun | Diminutive | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| het huis | het huisje | -je |
| de stoel | het stoeltje | -tje |
| de boom | het boompje | -pje |
| de man | het mannetje | -etje |
| de koning | het koninkje | -kje |
Every diminutive is a het-word. See the diminutives cheat sheet.
The word er
Er is short and has several jobs:
- "there is / there are": Er staat een fiets voor de deur. (There is a bike in front of the door.)
- a place already mentioned: Ik woon er al vijf jaar. (I have lived there for five years.)
- with a number: Ik heb er twee. (I have two of them.)
- with a preposition, instead of het: Ik denk erover. (I am thinking about it.)
See the er cheat sheet.
How to study Dutch grammar
Reading rules is not enough. You need to produce the forms many times. A practical mix:
- Learn one area at a time, starting with word order and the present tense.
- Write 5 of your own sentences with each new rule.
- Use the flashcards for vocabulary and the quiz to test yourself.
- Learn the 594 most common words with their articles.
Grammar matters most for the writing and speaking parts of the language exams. If you are preparing for those, read the Dutch B1 exam or the inburgering exam A2 guide. For citizenship, see the Dutch citizenship requirements.
More guides
- Dutch grammar for beginners
- Dutch grammar PDF
- 12 Dutch grammar rules explained with examples
- How to learn Dutch grammar
- How to learn Dutch on your own
- Is Dutch grammar hard? What is easy, what is not, and why
- Is Dutch grammar similar to English? What matches and what doesn't
- Is Dutch harder than German? Dutch grammar vs German, with examples
- What is the pv in Dutch grammar? How to find the persoonsvorm
Frequently asked questions
Is Dutch grammar hard?
For English speakers, it is one of the easier European languages. There are no noun cases and verb endings are simple. Word order and de/het take the most time.
What should I learn first in Dutch grammar?
The present tense of zijn and hebben, then the verb-second rule, then de and het. Our beginners guide gives the full order.
How do I know if a word is de or het?
For most words you have to learn it. Plurals are always de, diminutives are always het, and most words for people are de. Practise with the de/het trainer.
What is 't kofschip?
A memory word for the regular past tense. If the stem ends in t, k, f, s, ch or p, you add -te. Otherwise you add -de. So werkte but woonde.
Why does the verb go to the end in Dutch?
In subordinate clauses (after dat, omdat, als and similar words), all verbs go to the end. In main clauses, only infinitives and participles go to the end.
Is there a printable Dutch grammar overview?
Each topic has a one-page summary on the cheat sheets page, free to read online. Printing them or saving them as PDF is part of More Dutch Plus. More in Dutch grammar PDF.