Welcome to the first part of a series in which I will be explaining a few basic rules of Dutch grammar. In this post we are going to be looking at the formation of a simple sentence in Dutch.

If you just started learning Dutch and you feel like it’s the most inflexible language in the world, you might actually be correct. It has everything to do with our obsession for order – you have seen the polders, right? – and our hate for surprises. Well, that last part is not true, obviously, because we are crazy about presents (include het bonnetje, please*).

But we do like a good set of rules to which everyone needs to adhere to and when you stray off the path, people simply won’t understand what you are saying (doe normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg*).

So what are those rules and how can you use them for your benefit when speaking Dutch?

Rule #1 Do not improvise! I cannot repeat this enough. When students ask me if they can play around with the order, my answer is always the same: a headshaking NEE!

Rule #2 Write the rules down on post-its and stick them to every door and wall in your house, because it’s going to feel really weird at first and you will forget a lot of times.

Rule #3 The actual rule: Subject – Conjugated Verb – Time – Manner – Place – Rest.

Let’s take a closer look at all of these elements. Subject is usually a person but can also be a thing, like a bike or a computer. Conjugated Verb is the verb that is conjugated specifically for your subject.

For example: Ik wil – I want

Time is any time indication in your sentence; at two o’clock, Saturday, next year. Let’s build further on that.

Ik wil morgen – I want tomorrow

The Manner is the way you would do something; by train or by bus, for instance.

Ik wil morgen met de trein – I want tomorrow with the train

Place is quite obvious, let’s put Amsterdam here.

Ik wil morgen met de trein naar Amsterdam – I want tomorrow with the train to Amsterdam

Now the Rest is quite confusing. What is a Rest? It’s anything that doesn’t fall in one of the previous categories, to put it very simply, but most of the times it will be an infinitive verb.

Ik wil morgen met de trein naar Amsterdam gaan – I want tomorrow with the train to Amsterdam to go. 

This sentence might sound ridiculous to you, dear newbies, but for us it’s the most natural thing in the world. Let’s correct that for the sake of proper translation:

Ik wil morgen met de trein naar Amsterdam gaan – I want to go to Amsterdam tomorrow with the train.

So get out your post-its and write down in big letters:

S V T M P R

Next time, we will be talking about other options for making sentences.

“Wait, what? There is more?”

Of course there is, unless you want to spend the rest of you Dutch speaking life sounding like a robot.

Tot de volgende keer!!!

*het bonnetje = If you want to be a really good friend, always bring the receipt along with your gift so we can exchange it for something we like more than your gift

*doe normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg = act normally, that’s already crazy enough; please don’t try to be original, just be normaal, okay?