LESSON ONE

Welcome to your first Dutch lesson at Fast ‘N Snel. Great that you want to learn Dutch! Fast ‘N Snel focuses on speaking Dutch. But there are also grammatical rules that you need to know when speaking Dutch.

Let’s start at the beginning!

Persoonlijke voornaamwoorden

(Personal pronouns)

Personal pronouns refer to living beings or things, without calling them by name: I, you, she, them, him, etc. There are three ‘types’ of personal pronouns:

Eerste persoon, tweede persoon, derde persoon

(First, second and third person)

In the first lessons we often talk about the “First Person”, “Second Person” and the “Third Person”.

A short definition:

first person: the speaker
second person: the person addressed
third person: neither the speaker nor the person addressed, but a third person/ animal/ thing

For each person there is also a singular and a plural ‘version’. For now we will focus mainly on the singular.

So……let’s start with how to introduce yourself in Dutch….

You can present yourself in different ways. There is of course a big difference between presenting yourself to friends or colleagues or presenting yourself at a job application. In both cases, there is a fixed order for telling people who you are and what you do.

Nederlands/ English	Explanation
Ik i	“ik” (I) is used in Dutch when you talk about yourself
1- Ik heet…/ mijn naam is… My name is	Used when you introduce yourself, as in: “Ik heet Jan“ (My name is Jan)
2- Ik ben geboren in…/ Ik kom uit… I am born in…/ I am from…	To tell where you originally from, as in: “Ik ben geboren in Nederland“ (I’m born in The Netherlands)
3- Ik woon (nu) in… I am living in…	To tell where you live now, as in: “Ik woon in Amsterdam“ (I’m living in Amsterdam)
4- Ik werk voor of ik werk bij… I am working for… OR I am working at…	To tell where you work, as in: “Ik werk bij Google“ (I’m working for Google)
5- Ik ben (een)… I am (a)…	Used when you tell what you are or how you feel, or for example what your occupation is, as in: “Ik ben mens“ (I am human). “Ik ben dokter“ (I am a Doctor). “Ik ben ziek“ (I am ill) “Ik ben moe“ (I am tiered)But it can also tell your status: “Ik ben te laat“ (I am late) “ik ben rijk“ (I am rich) “Ik ben pauze aan het houden“ (I am having a break) You can also use it to introduce yourself by name: “Ik ben Jan“ (I am called Jan)
de the	The 3 words DE, HET & EEN (the, the, a) are often used in Dutch, they are called LIDWOORDEN (articles).
het it	The 3 words DE, HET & EEN (the, the, a) are often used in Dutch, they are called LIDWOORDEN (articles).
een a	The 3 words DE, HET & EEN (the, the, a) are often used in Dutch, they are called LIDWOORDEN (articles).
De man, een man The man, A man	In Holland you are called MAN (man) when you are older then 18.
De vrouw, een vrouw The woman, A woman	In Holland you are called VROUW (woman) when you are older then 18.
De jongen, een jongen The boy, A boy	In Holland you are called JONGEN (boy) when you are younger then 18. (The Dutch use the diminutive JONGETJE for kids.).
HET meisje, een meisje The girl, A girl	In Holland you are called MEISJE (girl) when you are younger then 18. (The Dutch use the diminutive MEISJE for kids.).
HET kind, een kind The child	Every person between 2 -3 and 18 years the Dutch call “KIND“ (kid)
De baby, een baby The baby	Every person age 0 to 2-3 the Dutch call “BABY“ (baby)
HET persoon, een persoon A person	Mostly used when you not know if it’s a man, woman or kid. “een persoon“ (a person) is singular, “personen“ (persons) is plural.
Een dier, het dier An animal	Dutch talk about “een dier“ (an animal) when they tell – for example – about a cat or dog.

Hallo Hello	Greeting, most used in a familiar situation
Hoi Hi	Greeting, most used in a familiar/ street situation.
Goed Good	Can be used in different ways, as in: “Ik voel mij goed“ (i feel good) or “dat eten is niet meer goed“ (That food is no good anymore)
Slecht Bad	Can be used in different ways, as in: “Ik voel mij slecht“ (i feel bad) or “Hij is een slecht persoon“ (That person is bad)
Dag, een dag, de dag. Plural: Dagen Day, the day, day’s	maandag (Monday), dinsdag (Tuesday), woensdag (Wednesday), donderdag (Thursday), vrijdag (Friday), zaterdag (Saturday), zondag (Sunday).
Nacht, de nacht, een nacht. Plural: nachten Night, the night, a night, nights
Maand, de maand, een maand. Plural: Maanden Month, the month, a month, months
De ochtend, ‘s ochtends Morning, mornings	In Holland from 06:00 till 12:00 (same as ‘s Morgens)
De morgen, ‘s morgens Morning, mornings	In Holland from 06:00 till 12:00
De middag, ‘s middags Afternoon	In Holland from 12:00 till 18:00
De avond, ‘s avonds Evening	In Holland from 18:00 till 24:00
De nacht, ‘s nachts Midnight	In Holland from 24:00 till 06:00
Morgen Tomorrow	Not to confuse with “MORGEN” as in the morning, it can also mean:“Ik zie je morgen“ (I will see you tomorrow)
Goedemorgen Good morning	Greeting often used in the morning, also used in familiar situations.
Goedemiddag Good afternoon	Greeting used in the afternoon, more for official situations or with people you don’t know well.
Goedenavond Good evening	Greeting used in the evening, more for official situations or with people you don’t know well.
Goedenacht Goodnight	Greeting used at night or in the evening.
Goedendag Good day	Greeting used during the day, more for official situations.
Tot ziens See you	Most used in a familiar situation, when you leave.

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