Talk:Dutch/Lesson 11/Archive

Archived Jcwf (discuss • contribs) 02:45, 20 May 2015 (UTC) Volgens mij is de volgende zin niet juist. (Hij klink naar Duits.) : (In my opinion, the following sentence is not right. It sounds like German:) Ik betwijfel dat je gisteren met de trein naar huis gegaan bent.

Ik zou liever zeggen : (I would rather say:) Ik betwijfel dat je gisteren met de trein naar huis bent gegaan.Albertde 15:14, 10 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Sorry for the late answer, but I disagree: for me both orders are correct. (and I'm native)

152.1.193.137 21:38, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi, I learnt Flemish first and then Dutch, working at NV Philips in Eindhoven. So I suppose my statement reflects a Southern bias as opposed to the Northern bias in most textbooks.Albertde

Getting the word order right
1. The modals must be explained.

Ik denk dat hij op vrijdag zou moeten komen.

In German, the equivalent of zou (wird) would be put at the end. This is important since a lot of people learning Dutch will either already know German or will go on to learn it after mastering Dutch.


 * Ik denk dat hij vrijdag komen zou is fine in Dutch. The moeten part is what sounds awkward.

2. Another topic that ought to be covered is modals and verbs with separable prefixes in independent and dependent clauses.

Hij zou aan moeten komen.

Ik denk dat hij op vrijdag aan moet komen.


 * This is a valid point: separables are discussed and so is word order but not the combination. Maybe a revisit?

3. Another topic that is important to written Dutch (and German and Russian for that matter) is that unlike Englsh, adjectives always go before nouns in Dutch.

De op tien uur 's zaterdags vertrekkende trein zou worden opgeheven. (The train departing at 10 on Saturdays will be cancelled.)Albertde 15:14, 10 June 2006 (UTC)


 * This is a valid point although I think it probably has more to do with the role of the present participle. In Dutch that is hardly ever used to initiate a clause.