Prices, weather, and discoveries | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hoeveel kost dit?

   How much is this?

   Hoeveel

   how much

   kost

   costs

   dit

   this

   More detail

   Hoeveel asks for an amount or price: “how much” (and, with a plural noun, “how many”). In this sentence it asks for the price. Example: Hoeveel kost dat? — “How much does that cost?” kost is the present-tense form of kosten (“to cost”) for a singular subject: het kost or dit kost. The verb is kosten with -en in its base form and kost here because the subject is singular. Example: Het boek kost tien euro. — “The book costs ten euros.” dit is a demonstrative meaning “this.” It is the neuter singular form used for a nearby or currently indicated singular thing; the exact thing is not identified further in the sentence. The corresponding plural form is deze, as in deze boeken (“these books”). Together, Hoeveel asks for the price, kost expresses the cost of the singular thing, and dit identifies that thing as “this.” The complete sentence therefore means “How much is this?” or, more literally, “How much does this cost?” This is a natural everyday question when asking the price of an item.

2. Waar woon je?

   Where do you live?

   Waar

   where

   woon

   live

   je

   you

   More detail

   Waar asks for a place or location. It is the Dutch question word “where,” as in Waar werk je? — “Where do you work?” woon is the finite form of wonen, “to live.” In this question, it is present tense. Dutch uses the verb stem woon before je in this inverted question pattern: woon je. In a statement, the corresponding form is je woont; the -t is absent after inversion. For example, Ik woon in Utrecht. means “I live in Utrecht.” je is the informal singular subject pronoun “you” in this utterance. It is the subject of woon, and the verb form is shaped by this question word order. The pronoun itself is not a location word; the requested location is supplied by the answer. Together, Waar + woon je forms the reusable pattern “Where do you live?” Dutch places the finite verb before the subject in this direct question: literally, “Where live you?” The fixed utterance is a neutral, everyday way to ask someone’s place of residence.

3. Het is mooi weer.

   The weather is nice.

   Het is

   it is

   mooi

   nice

   weer

   weather

   More detail

   Het is is a reusable Dutch pattern meaning “it is.” In this sentence, het is the impersonal subject used in a weather statement, not a specifically identified person or object. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) with this singular subject. Example: Het is koud. — “It is cold.” mooi means “nice” here. It modifies weer inside the noun phrase mooi weer, so it is not a predicative adjective after zijn. Its bare form appears before this noun: mooi weer — “nice weather.” Example: Het is slecht weer. — “The weather is bad.” weer means “weather.” In this sentence it is used without an article in the general weather expression mooi weer. Het weer is another common Dutch expression meaning “the weather,” but it is not the form used in this sentence. Together, Het is mooi weer. means “The weather is nice.” The reusable pattern is Het is + adjective + weer, as in Het is slecht weer. — “The weather is bad.”

4. Het regent nu.

   It is raining now.

   Het

   it

   regent

   is raining

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Het is the subject form used here in the impersonal weather expression. In Het regent, it does not refer to a specific object; Dutch uses this subject position for weather conditions. This het is different from a referring pronoun in a sentence such as Ik zie het (“I see it”), where it points to something identifiable. regent is the present-tense form of regenen (“to rain”). The form ends in -t because the subject form used here is third-person singular. For example: Het sneeuwt. — “It is snowing.” nu means “now” and places the raining at the present time. It can also be used in another clause, for example: Ik werk nu. — “I am working now.” Together, Het regent gives the Dutch impersonal weather pattern “It is raining,” and nu specifies that this is happening now. The complete utterance therefore means “It is raining now.”

5. Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten.

   I forgot my phone.

   Ik ben

   I am

   mijn

   my

   telefoon

   phone

   vergeten

   forgotten

   More detail

   Ik ben is the first-person singular subject plus the present form of zijn (“to be”). Here it functions as the auxiliary in the completed-action construction zijn + voltooid deelwoord; it is not translated word-for-word as “I am” in the whole sentence. Ik means “I,” while ben is the form of zijn used with ik. mijn means “my.” It is a possessive word showing that the phone belongs to or is associated with the speaker. Unlike an English possessive noun phrase, Dutch possessives do not add an apostrophe: mijn telefoon means “my phone.” telefoon is the noun “phone.” Its plural is telefoons, so een telefoon means “a phone” and telefoons means “phones.” vergeten is the past participle of vergeten, “to forget.” The useful form chain is vergeten (infinitive) – vergat (simple past) – vergeten (past participle). In this utterance, the repeated-looking form is the participle, used with ben in the perfect construction. For example: Ik ben mijn sleutel vergeten. — “I forgot my key.” Together, Ik ben ... vergeten expresses a completed forgetting by the speaker: Ik identifies the actor, ben ... vergeten marks the completed event, and mijn telefoon identifies what was forgotten. Thus the whole utterance means “I forgot my phone.”

6. Ik heb hem gevonden.

   I found it.

   Ik heb

   I have

   hem

   it

   gevonden

   found

   More detail

   Ik heb means “I have” here and begins a Dutch perfect-tense construction. Ik is the first-person singular subject, “I”; heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). Here, heb is the auxiliary, while the completed action is expressed by the past participle at the end. hem is the singular object pronoun meaning “it” here. The supplied context identifies the referent as the phone mentioned earlier. In other contexts, hem can also mean “him” when referring to a male person; the form’s interpretation depends on the referent and context. gevonden is the past participle of vinden, “to find.” The useful form chain is vinden → gevonden. Combined with hebben, it expresses a completed finding: Ik heb ... gevonden can correspond to “I have found ...” or, as in the fixed translation, “I found ...”. A reusable main-clause pattern is subject + finite hebben + object + past participle: Ik heb hem gevonden. The finite auxiliary appears in the second position, and the past participle appears at the end. Together, the chunks mean “I have found it,” matching the fixed translation “I found it.”