Dutch Word Order.

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Itsuki Kohaku
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Dutch Word Order.

Post by Itsuki Kohaku »

Okay, So I'm still learning Dutch in Belgium.

I have a horrible tendency to speak Dutch in English SVO word order.

I tried reading the Wikipedia article on V2 word order. It used complex terms that stumped me. If someone here could please explain Dutch word order and give examples please. I want to rid my Nederlands of Engels.
In order of knowledge: :eng: :vls: :epo: :fra: :deu: :esp: :jpn: :zho: :fin: :tur: :eus:
Conlangs: :con: Literary Makurungou, :con: Common Makurungou
Wanderer
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Re: Dutch Word Order.

Post by Wanderer »

Well, basically, subordinate clauses use SOV and main clauses SVO.

An example:

Ik riep hem. (I called (for) him.)

Here we see that the main clause is SVO: S = Ik, V = riep, O = hem, just like English, but when we add another clause, a subordinate clause, we see that the subordinate clauses shifts to SOV:

Ik riep hem, zodat hij mij zou zien. (I called (for) him, so he would see me.)

Since you know a fair bit of Dutch al ready, you've probably seen that it's SOV here, in the 'zodat hij mij zou zien' bit. S = hij, O = mij, V = zou zien.

Another problem you might have, is that in the basic SVO type sentences, if there is an auxiliary verb, only the auxiliary verb is in the V slot in that thing, whereas the real verb is placed at the end of the sentence.

An example:

Ik heb hem geroepen (I have called (for) him).

Here, the verb form is 'heb geroepen', just like English 'have called'. However, the past participle 'geroepen' is placed at the end of the sentence, whereas the auxiliary verb 'heb' is place in between the subject and the object. So S = Ik, AuxV = heb, O = hem, V = geroepen.

This is still a very easy form, but Dutch can be real bad with having lots of auxiliary verbs. Here's a rather silly example to show how crazy Dutch can get with all the auxiliary verbs:

'Ik zou jou daar (wel eens) willen hebben zien durven blijven staan kijken'

Where the verb thing is 'zou willen hebben zien durven blijven staan kijken'. The sentence translates roughly into 'I'd like to have seen you dare and stay there watching it.'

But as you see, the only thing that goes into the V in the SVO scheme, is the auxiliary verb 'zou', meaning 'would'.

You don't have to be scared of those examples though, people don't usually get so crazy with those auxiliaries. :mrgreen:

Hope that helped a bit!
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Itsuki Kohaku
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Re: Dutch Word Order.

Post by Itsuki Kohaku »

Thank you Wanderer.
I can understand and read Dutch much better than I can type and speak it.



Okay, I'll give it a try.
Tell me if I'm right or wrong.


"Ik heb het meisje bewonderen."
In order of knowledge: :eng: :vls: :epo: :fra: :deu: :esp: :jpn: :zho: :fin: :tur: :eus:
Conlangs: :con: Literary Makurungou, :con: Common Makurungou
Wanderer
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Re: Dutch Word Order.

Post by Wanderer »

Good! The worder order is completely right! :mrgreen:

The only thing is, that it's 'bewonderd', instead of 'bewonderen'. Past participles in Dutch can be quite annoying ;-) .

But yeah, the word order is what you were going for and the word order is completely correct.
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Itsuki Kohaku
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Re: Dutch Word Order.

Post by Itsuki Kohaku »

Wanderer wrote:Good! The worder order is completely right! :mrgreen:

The only thing is, that it's 'bewonderd', instead of 'bewonderen'. Past participles in Dutch can be quite annoying ;-) .

But yeah, the word order is what you were going for and the word order is completely correct.


Embarrasing grammar mistake is embarrasing. I really can't call myself "fluent".


Usually when I'm typing Dutch, I have a cousin over my shoulder helping me with grammar and vocabulary.
In order of knowledge: :eng: :vls: :epo: :fra: :deu: :esp: :jpn: :zho: :fin: :tur: :eus:
Conlangs: :con: Literary Makurungou, :con: Common Makurungou
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