Family and a pet at home | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Family and a pet at home to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Woon je met je familie?

VOHN yuh met yuh fah-MEE-lee? Do you live with family?

Ik woon met mijn kind.

ihk VOHN met mine KINT. I live with my child.

Is er thuis ook een huisdier?

iss er TOYZ ohk un HOYZ-deer? Is there a pet at home too?

We hebben een kleine hond.

vuh HEB-uhn un KLY-nuh HONT. We have a small dog.

Kunnen ze goed met elkaar opschieten?

KUN-uhn zuh KHOOT met el-KAHR OP-skhoo-tuhn? How do they get along?

Ze spelen elke dag samen.

zuh SPAY-luhn EL-kuh DAHKH SAH-muhn. They play together every day.

Word by Word

Woon “Woon” means “live” here and starts the question “Woon je met je familie?”. The citation form is wonen; Woon is the form placed before je in this question. Use “Woon je met ...?” when asking about someone’s living situation.

je In “Woon je met je familie?”, the first “je” means “you”, the person being asked about. The same spelling appears again in “je familie”, where it means “your” before a noun. Use je as the subject in questions such as “Woon je ...?” and before a noun to show possession.

met “Met” means “with” in “met je familie” and “met mijn kind”. It marks the person or group someone lives together with. Use met before the person or group that accompanies or is connected with someone, such as “met je familie”.

familie “Familie” means “family” in “je familie”. It names the group the speaker asks about in the question. Use it after a possessive such as je when talking about someone’s family.

Ik “Ik” means “I” and identifies the speaker as the subject in “Ik woon met mijn kind.” It comes at the beginning of this statement before the verb woon. Use Ik + verb when giving information about yourself.

mijn “Mijn” means “my” in “mijn kind” and shows that the child belongs to or is connected with the speaker. It comes directly before the noun kind. Use mijn + noun to describe something belonging to or associated with yourself.

kind “Kind” means “child” in “mijn kind”. It names the family member the speaker lives with. Use it after a word such as mijn when talking about a child in relation to someone.

Is “Is” means “is” here and begins the question “Is er thuis ook een huisdier?”. It is the verb used to ask whether something is present; the complete meaning “is there” comes from the construction with er, not from Is alone. Use “Is er ...?” to ask whether something is present.

er “Er” helps introduce something whose presence is being asked about in “Is er thuis ook een huisdier?”. It works together with Is and the noun phrase to form the question about what is present. Er commonly occurs in patterns with a verb and a noun when asking or stating that something exists or is present.

thuis “Thuis” means “at home” in “Is er thuis ook een huisdier?”. It specifies the location where the pet might be present. Use thuis when talking about being, living, or doing something at home.

ook “Ook” means “also” or “too” in “Is er thuis ook een huisdier?”. It adds the idea of an additional thing being present at home. Use ook when asking about or mentioning something in addition to what is already being discussed.

een “Een” introduces a non-specific noun in “een huisdier” and “een kleine hond”, meaning “a” or “an”. In “een kleine hond”, it comes before the adjective and noun. Use een before a singular, non-specific noun phrase.

huisdier “Huisdier” means “pet” in “een huisdier”. It names an animal kept at home. Use it after een when introducing a pet without specifying which particular animal it is.

We “We” means “we” and identifies the household or group as the subject in “We hebben een kleine hond.” It comes before hebben in this statement. Use We + verb when speaking about yourself together with one or more other people.

hebben “Hebben” means “have” in “We hebben een kleine hond.” With We, it expresses possession of the dog. Use the pattern We hebben + noun when saying that you and others have or own something.

kleine “Kleine” means “small” and describes hond in “een kleine hond”. The citation form is klein; kleine is the form used directly before hond here. Use the pattern een + adjective + noun to describe a thing, such as “een kleine hond”.

hond “Hond” means “dog” in “een kleine hond”. It names the pet that the speaker’s household has. Use it after an article and, when needed, a describing word such as kleine.

Kunnen “Kunnen” expresses “can” or “be able to” in “Kunnen ze goed met elkaar opschieten?”. It begins the question about whether the two subjects are able to get along. Use “Kunnen ze ...?” when asking what people or animals can do.

ze “Ze” means “they” here and refers to the child and the dog in “Kunnen ze goed met elkaar opschieten?” and “Ze spelen elke dag samen.” It can follow Kunnen in a question or begin a statement before the verb. Use ze to refer to the group that is doing the action.

goed “Goed” means “well” or “in a good way” in “goed met elkaar opschieten”. It evaluates the quality of their relationship. Use goed before an action or expression when describing that something happens in a positive or successful way.

met elkaar opschieten “Met elkaar opschieten” means “get along with each other” as a whole in “Kunnen ze goed met elkaar opschieten?”. Within this expression, met marks the relationship, elkaar refers reciprocally to the people or animals involved, and opschieten is the verb used in the fixed expression. Use “goed met elkaar opschieten” when asking or saying whether people or animals have a good relationship.

spelen “Spelen” means “play” in “Ze spelen elke dag samen.” It describes the activity of the child and dog. Use spelen when talking about people or animals taking part in play.

elke “Elke” means “every” in “elke dag”. It introduces the repeated time period that follows. Use elke + time noun when describing something that happens regularly.

dag “Dag” means “day” in “elke dag”. Together with elke, it identifies the daily frequency of the playing. Use dag after a frequency word when talking about a period of one day.

samen “Samen” means “together” in “Ze spelen elke dag samen”. It shows that the child and dog share the activity. Use samen with an action when two or more people or animals do it jointly.

Grammar Points

elke + zelfstandig naamwoord

elke dag

EL-kuh DAHKH

every day

Gebruik elke vóór een zelfstandig naamwoord in het enkelvoud om ‘every’ uit te drukken.

kleine + zelfstandig naamwoord

kleine hond

KLY-nuh HONT

small dog

Een bijvoeglijk naamwoord krijgt vaak -e vóór een zelfstandig naamwoord: klein wordt kleine.

Dutch Vocabulary

dag noun

DAHKH day

elke det

EL-kuh every

familie noun

fah-MEE-lee family

goed adv

KHOOT well

hebben verb

HEB-uhn to have

hond noun

HONT dog

huisdier noun

HOYZ-deer pet

kind noun

KINT child

klein adj

KLYN small kleine

met elkaar opschieten phrase

met el-KAHR OP-skhoo-tuhn to get along with each other

thuis adv

TOYZ at home

wonen verb

VOH-nuhn to live Woon

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Do you live with family?

Show Answer

Woon je met je familie?

I live with my child.

Show Answer

Ik woon met mijn kind.

Is there a pet at home too?

Show Answer

Is er thuis ook een huisdier?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to have

Show Answer

hebben

pet

Show Answer

huisdier

small

Show Answer

kleine

at home

Show Answer

thuis