Prices, weather, and discoveries | Learn Dutch in English

Dutch lesson set in a contemporary Amsterdam everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic price, weather, and discoveries..

EN → NL / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Prices, weather, and discoveries to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Hoeveel kost dit?

HOO-vuhl kawst dit? How much is this?
B

Waar woon je?

VAHR vohn yuh? Where do you live?
A

Het is mooi weer.

uht iss MOY vair. The weather is nice.
B

Het regent nu.

uht RAY-khuhnt nyoo. It is raining now.
A

Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten.

ik ben mine tay-luh-FOHN fur-KHAY-tuhn. I forgot my phone.
B

Ik heb hem gevonden.

ik hep hem khuh-VON-duhn. I found it.

Word by Word

Hoeveel “Hoeveel” asks for an amount, here the price in “Hoeveel kost dit?” It comes at the beginning of a question asking how much something costs. A reusable pattern is “Hoeveel kost + an item?”
kost “Kost” means “costs” in “Hoeveel kost dit?” and refers to the price of “dit”. It is used with the thing whose price is being asked about, as in the pattern “Hoeveel kost + an item?” Use this when asking about a price in a shop or another buying situation.
dit “Dit” means “this” in “Hoeveel kost dit?” and points to the item being discussed or looked at. It appears after “kost” as the subject whose price is requested. Use it when the item is nearby or clear from the situation.
Waar “Waar” means “where” in “Waar woon je?” and asks about a place. It begins this question because the unknown information is the place where someone lives. Use it at the start of questions about location.
woon “Woon” means “live” in “Waar woon je?” and describes someone’s place of residence. It is used with a person and a place-related question such as “Waar woon je?” Use this when asking where someone lives.
je “Je” means “you” in “Waar woon je?” and identifies the person being asked about. It comes after “woon” in this question. Use it for the person you are addressing in an informal everyday conversation.
Het “Het” means “it” in “Het is mooi weer.” Here it is the subject used in the Dutch expression about the weather. Use the same pattern when talking about weather conditions.
is “Is” links “Het” with the description “mooi weer” in “Het is mooi weer.” Together, the sentence says that the weather is nice. It is used in this basic pattern to describe the weather.
mooi “Mooi” contributes the positive description “nice” in “Het is mooi weer.” With “weer”, the phrase “mooi weer” means nice weather, so the complete expression describes pleasant conditions. Use it before “weer” when saying that the weather is nice.
weer “Weer” means “weather” in “Het is mooi weer.” It is the thing being described by “mooi” in this expression. Use it in weather descriptions such as “mooi weer”.
regent “Regent” means “is raining” in “Het regent nu.” It is used with “Het” in the standard weather expression for rain. Use the pattern “Het regent” when telling someone that rain is falling.
nu “Nu” means “now” in “Het regent nu” and shows that the rain is happening at the present time. It is placed at the end of this short sentence. Use it when you want to emphasize that something is happening now.
Ik “Ik” means “I” in “Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten” and identifies the speaker. It comes at the beginning because the speaker is the subject of the sentence. Use it to introduce something you did or experienced yourself.
ben “Ben” is the form used with “Ik” in “Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten.” Together with “vergeten”, “ben” helps form the sentence meaning “I forgot my phone.” Use this construction to say that you have forgotten something.
mijn “Mijn” means “my” in “Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten” and shows that the phone belongs to the speaker. It comes directly before “telefoon”. Use “mijn” before the thing you are identifying as belonging to you.
telefoon “Telefoon” means “phone” in “Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten.” It is the thing the speaker forgot and follows “mijn” in the phrase “mijn telefoon”. Use it after a possessive word when talking about someone’s phone.
vergeten “Vergeten” completes “Ik ben mijn telefoon vergeten”, which means “I forgot my phone.” In this sentence, it expresses the forgotten action and comes after the object “mijn telefoon”. Use the pattern “Ik ben ... vergeten” with the thing that was forgotten in the middle.
heb “Heb” is used with “gevonden” in “Ik heb hem gevonden” to form the sentence meaning “I found it.” It comes after “Ik” and before the object and “gevonden”. Use the pattern “Ik heb ... gevonden” when saying that you found something.
hem “Hem” means “it” in “Ik heb hem gevonden” and refers to the phone that was mentioned earlier. It is the object of “gevonden” and comes before that word in the sentence. Use it when referring back to the relevant object as something found.
gevonden “Gevonden” means “found” in “Ik heb hem gevonden.” It completes the construction “Ik heb hem gevonden” and expresses the result of finding the phone. Use it after “Ik heb ...” with the object placed before “gevonden”.

Grammar Points

Vraagwoord + werkwoord + onderwerp

Waar woon je?

VAHR vohn yuh?

Where do you live?

In Dutch questions beginning with a question word, the verb comes before the subject: woon je.

Het is + bijvoeglijk naamwoord + zelfstandig naamwoord

Het is mooi weer.

uht iss MOY vair.

The weather is nice.

Dutch uses het as the subject in this weather expression; English normally uses the weather.

Dutch Vocabulary

dit pron
dit this

Hoeveel kost dit?

het pron
uht it Het

Het is mooi weer.

Hoeveel pron
HOO-vuhl how much

Hoeveel kost dit?

is verb
iss is

Het is mooi weer.

je pron
yuh you

Waar woon je?

kost verb
kawst costs

Hoeveel kost dit?

mooi adj
moy nice

Het is mooi weer.

nu adv
nyoo now

Het regent nu.

regent verb
RAY-khuhnt is raining

Het regent nu.

Waar adv
VAHR where

Waar woon je?

weer noun
vair weather

Het is mooi weer.

woon verb
vohn live

Waar woon je?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

How much is this?

Show AnswerHoeveel kost dit?

Where do you live?

Show AnswerWaar woon je?

The weather is nice.

Show AnswerHet is mooi weer.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

where

Show AnswerWaar

live

Show Answerwoon

how much

Show AnswerHoeveel

costs

Show Answerkost