Dutch adverbs: snel, vaak, graag, daarom and more
How Dutch adverbs work, from adjectives used as adverbs to time, place, degree and frequency words, graag, ook, and pronominal adverbs like daarom.
Adverbs tell you how, when, where, how often and how much: "quickly", "tomorrow", "here", "often", "very". In English, many of them end in "-ly". Dutch has no such ending, which makes life easier: most adjectives can be used as adverbs just as they are. The challenge is somewhere else, in where adverbs go in the sentence and in a few very Dutch words like graag and daarom. This guide covers the whole system.
No -ly: the adjective is the adverb
In Dutch, you take the basic form of the adjective, without any ending, and use it to describe a verb.
- Hij rijdt snel. — He drives fast.
- Ze zingt mooi. — She sings beautifully.
- Je hebt het goed gedaan. — You did it well.
- Praat alsjeblieft langzaam. — Please speak slowly.
- Hij antwoordde eerlijk. — He answered honestly.
The adjective-as-adverb never takes an -e, because it doesn't describe a noun. Wrong: Hij rijdt snelle.
The same goes for adverbs that describe an adjective. Compare:
- een snelle auto — a fast car (adjective with -e)
- een erg snelle auto — a very fast car (erg is an adverb: no -e)
- een heel mooi huis — a very beautiful house
In speech you'll often hear een hele mooie fiets, with -e on heel. It's very common in informal Dutch, but in writing use een heel mooie fiets.
Don't be fooled by -lijk: words like duidelijk (clear), eerlijk (honest) and vriendelijk (friendly) are adjectives that you can also use as adverbs. -lijk is not the Dutch "-ly".
Types of adverbs
| Type | Question | Common adverbs |
|---|---|---|
| Time | when? | nu, vandaag, morgen, gisteren, straks, net, meteen, toen, vroeger, later, al, nog |
| Place | where? | hier, daar, er, thuis, binnen, buiten, boven, beneden, overal, ergens, nergens |
| Manner | how? | snel, langzaam, goed, slecht, samen, alleen, zo, anders |
| Degree | how much? | heel, erg, zeer, best, nogal, vrij, te, bijna, helemaal, een beetje |
| Frequency | how often? | altijd, meestal, vaak, soms, af en toe, zelden, nooit |
| Sentence | what do I think? | misschien, waarschijnlijk, gelukkig, helaas, natuurlijk, eigenlijk |
Sentence adverbs comment on the whole sentence: Helaas kan ik niet komen. — Unfortunately I can't come. Misschien regent het morgen. — Maybe it'll rain tomorrow. Note that gelukkig means both "happy" and "fortunately": Gelukkig was er nog plek. — Fortunately there was still room.
Where adverbs go
Never between the subject and the verb
In English, "I often drink coffee" puts the adverb before the verb. In a Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb must be in second place, so the adverb comes after it.
- Ik drink vaak koffie. — I often drink coffee.
- We eten meestal om zes uur. — We usually eat at six.
- Hij is altijd moe. — He's always tired.
- Wrong: Ik vaak drink koffie.
In a subordinate clause, the verb goes to the end, so there the adverb does come before it: omdat ik vaak koffie drink.
Starting with an adverb: inversion
If an adverb starts the sentence, the verb still comes second, so the subject moves after the verb. See Dutch word order.
- Morgen ga ik naar Utrecht. — Tomorrow I'm going to Utrecht.
- Soms werk ik thuis. — Sometimes I work from home.
- Gelukkig was hij niet gewond. — Fortunately he wasn't hurt.
Time, manner, place
When there are several adverbs after the verb, the usual order is time – manner – place. It's the opposite of the typical English order.
- Ik ga morgen met de trein naar Utrecht. — I'm going to Utrecht by train tomorrow.
- Ze werkt vandaag thuis. — She's working from home today.
- We fietsen elke dag samen naar school. — We cycle to school together every day.
For the details and exceptions, see time, manner, place.
With pronouns and niet
Short pronouns like het, hem and haar usually come before adverbs, and niet comes after time adverbs but before manner and place.
- Ik zie hem vaak. — I see him often.
- Ik heb het gisteren gekocht. — I bought it yesterday.
- Hij komt vandaag niet. — He isn't coming today.
- Hij rijdt niet snel. — He doesn't drive fast.
See the position of niet.
Degree: heel, erg, zeer, best, nogal, vrij
These all make an adjective stronger or weaker, but they differ in tone.
| Word | Meaning | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| heel | very | neutral, very common | Het is heel warm. — It's very warm. |
| erg | very | neutral, common | Ik ben erg moe. — I'm very tired. |
| zeer | very | formal, written | Dat is zeer belangrijk. — That's very important. |
| echt | really | informal | Het was echt leuk. — It was really fun. |
| best | quite, pretty | positive surprise | Het is best lekker. — It's actually pretty tasty. |
| nogal | rather | often slightly negative | Het is nogal duur. — It's rather expensive. |
| vrij | fairly | neutral | Het is vrij rustig. — It's fairly quiet. |
| behoorlijk | quite, considerably | neutral | Het is behoorlijk koud. — It's pretty cold. |
| een beetje | a bit | softening | Ik ben een beetje moe. — I'm a bit tired. |
| te | too | — | Het is te laat. — It's too late. |
Erg on its own is also an adjective meaning "bad": Dat is niet erg. — That doesn't matter. Best can also mean "best" (het best) and "fine": Best! — Fine!
Graag, liever, het liefst
Graag is one of the most useful Dutch words, and English has no direct equivalent. Put it after a verb to say you like doing something.
- Ik zwem graag. — I like swimming.
- We koken graag samen. — We like cooking together.
- Ik wil graag een koffie. — I'd like a coffee.
Graag has an irregular comparative and superlative, just like goed, veel and weinig. See comparatives and superlatives.
| Basic | More | Most |
|---|---|---|
| graag (gladly) | liever (rather) | het liefst (most of all) |
| goed (well) | beter | het best |
| veel (much) | meer | het meest |
| weinig (little) | minder | het minst |
- Ik drink graag thee. — I like drinking tea.
- Ik drink liever koffie. — I prefer coffee.
- Ik drink het liefst water. — I like water best.
You'll also hear graag on its own: Ja, graag! — Yes, please! Graag gedaan. — You're welcome.
Ook, al, nog and pas
Ook (also, too) comes after the verb, before the part it adds.
- Ik heb ook een hond. — I have a dog too.
- Ik ook. — Me too.
- Ik ook niet. — Me neither.
- Ook mijn moeder komt. — My mother is coming too. (stress on mijn moeder)
The time adverbs al (already), nog (still, yet) and pas (only, not until) are small but tricky. Al and pas are often opposites: Hij is al twintig (already twenty, that's old) versus Hij is pas twintig (only twenty, that's young). They get their own post: al, nog and pas.
Pronominal adverbs: daarom, daarna, waarmee
Dutch builds adverbs by joining er, daar, hier or waar with a preposition. They replace "preposition + it/that/this/what".
| Word | Literally | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| daarom | for that | that's why | Ik was ziek. Daarom bleef ik thuis. — I was ill. That's why I stayed home. |
| daarna | after that | afterwards | Eerst eten we, daarna gaan we wandelen. — First we eat, then we go for a walk. |
| daarvoor | before / for that | before that; for that | Daarvoor woonde ik in Londen. — Before that I lived in London. |
| daardoor | through that | because of that | Het regende. Daardoor was de weg glad. — It rained, so the road was slippery. |
| hierdoor | through this | because of this | Hierdoor is het probleem opgelost. — This solved the problem. |
| hiermee | with this | with this | Hiermee kun je de deur openen. — You can open the door with this. |
| waarom | for what | why | Waarom ben je zo laat? — Why are you so late? |
| waarmee | with what | with what / which | Waarmee schrijf je? — What are you writing with? |
Notice that daarom, daarna and daardoor at the start of a sentence cause inversion like any other first element: Daarom bleef ik thuis, not Daarom ik bleef thuis. Also note met becomes mee in these words: hiermee, waarmee, ermee. For the full system, see the word er, and for linking sentences, see linking words.
Quick summary
- Dutch has no "-ly": the plain adjective is the adverb, with no -e: Hij rijdt snel.
- In a main clause, adverbs come after the verb, never between subject and verb: Ik drink vaak koffie.
- An adverb at the start causes inversion: Morgen ga ik…
- Multiple adverbs: time – manner – place.
- Degree: heel/erg (neutral), zeer (formal), best (pleasantly), nogal (rather), vrij (fairly).
- Graag – liever – het liefst for likes and preferences.
- Pronominal adverbs like daarom, daarna, hierdoor, waarmee replace "preposition + that/this/what".
Practise it
Use frequency adverbs like meestal and soms in Daily routine, say what you like with graag and liever in Likes & dislikes, and practise er, daar and waar + preposition in The word er.